Arthur and the Magical Lamp
by Michaelssw0rd
Summary: Arthur buys an old lamp from an antique shop because he is filthy rich, never expecting to end up having a very annoying, full of insolence, and completely useless Genie at his command. A modern day (kind of) Merthur AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N : So I read the November Prompt of Tavern Tales- Buyin' it, Sellin' it, Savin' it, and basically couldn't resist writing...this. It probably doesn't even fit the prompt the way it was meant, but here we are anyway.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE.**

 _Deep into the old forest, the Witch stepped out of a completely unnatural shack, its walls made of tree trunks whose branches twisted into strange angles, making a roof over the bizarre house. The trees parted as she touched them, whispering words that no living being understood anymore, and closed again once she was out of the hut. She then looked down the winding path... waiting._

 _She was old, older than most of the trees in the forest. So old that she had forgotten what she was called, and it had been a really long time since she had last met another human, since she had last uttered words that were not spoken in ancient language long forgotten, understood only by the earth and which stirred the magic deep inside the land itself._

 _And yet, today she felt anticipation the likes of which she had never felt before. She paced around her small house restlessly._

 _Emrys was coming._

 _At length, she heard footfalls, and stopped her pacing. Instead she drew herself to her full height, folded her arms across her chest, and stood like a formidable being that she was. Emrys may be more powerful than her, but she was older, wiser, and he would never take her without a fight._

 _Through the woods, a shape materialized. It was an old man, walking with a stick, his back bowed, his hair white. The Witch was surprised. That was not Emrys._

 _He kept walking, until he stood but two feet away from her. Emrys or not, the man was brave. She could not remember the last time any human had dared to come so close to her without cowering in fear, or running away._

 _"I was led to believe I was going to be meeting Emrys today." The Witch stated, her voice rusty with disuse._

 _"And you will. I bring you Emrys." The man said, and then he rummaged in his coat- a ragged old thing- and took out an object carefully wrapped in a red cloth._

 _"What game are you playing?" She felt fury bubble up in her heart._

 _"I play no games, Witch." The way he said Witch was reverent, not at all like the way people threw the word around like an insult these days. "Emrys told me to bring him to you. He said you were the only one who would help. Only one who can help."_

 _"Help with what?"_

 _"Help keep him safe, until the Once and Future King returns. Help him meet him again."_

 _"How would I know when the Once and Future King returns? It could take decades. Centuries. Maybe even more."_

 _The man smiled, a weary stretch of lips, filled with affection and loss."Mer... Emrys said, that he would be the only one who would be able to break the enchantment. Only one who would be able to set him free."_

 _"That might be true, and maybe I could help you. But tell me, human, why should I?"_

 _"Because the old religion is dying, and if Emrys dies too, there would be nothing left. Not even enough embers left to rekindle the fire when time is right. If Emrys dies, magic will bleed out of the land, like it never existed."_

 _When the Witch looked at him contemplatively, wondering if anything was worth being burdened with so much responsibility, he raised an eyebrow and continued,_

 _"And because you owe him."_

 _"Owe him?" The outrageous claim made her temper flare._

 _"Yes! Owe him, you and everyone like you. It's because of him you are not persecuted anymore. It's because of him that you all can walk the earth freely practicing your art, and are not burned at a pyre. Each and every one of you is indebted, and he never asked for anything in return. Until now."_

 _She could not argue with that, so she extended her arms, but still saying, "I will try. But I am going to impose some of my own bonds. I never do anything for free."_

 _The man's eyes twinkled, relief clear on in them, but then his face grew grim and stern when he said, "He guessed as much, so he left room for some enchantments on top of his own. But remember, he would never serve anyone but a Pendragon. Such is his will."_

 _Saying that, the bundle was reverently placed in her arms, physically weighing nothing at all, but the spells that were contained in it started binding her immediately, burdening her shoulders. She clutched it tightly, feeling her energy being drained. An arm wrapped around her, helping her sit down on a tree stump. She looked up, and a pair of kind eyes gazed back at her._

 _"Thank you." The man told her, and the voice was sad, like someone was parting from their dearest family, and then he turned around and walked back through the way he had come._

* * *

A/N-PS: I will hopefully be posting this regularly... twice a week!

I should probably have waited until I finished writing this entire thing- In fact I should have studied instead of writing it in the first place but that's beside the point- but like... it was turning out to be so much longer than I expected, and what can I say. I am a comments whore. Please leave reviews and I will love you forever...:D!


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur woke up to the shrill ringing of his phone. A glance at the digital clock on his side table told him it was 4:00am at night. The curtains obscured the light outside, but even then Arthur was sure it was still pitch black outside, or at least as dark as it gets in downtown of a city that was always awake.

Groaning, he reached to the side table, looking around with only one eye open, and bit out a curse when he picked up the phone to see the name it displayed.

"What the fuck do you want right now at god forsaken o'clock Morgana?" Arthur didn't even bother trying keeping his displeasure out of his voice.

"Arthur..." She spoke, her voice weird and hushed, signaling Arthur to the fact that something might be seriously wrong.

"Is everything alright?" He asked in what he hoped was a calmer tone.

"Did you buy it?"

"Buy what? What are you fucking talking about?"

"I am serious Arthur. Have you bought it yet?" Urgency bled into her voice.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. You woke me up in the middle of the night to play cryptic riddle games?"

"So you haven't." Morgana sounded disappointed. It was almost like she wasn't even listening to what Arthur was saying.

Arthur just groaned, collapsing into bed and closing both eyes, one hand holding the mobile to his ear.

"When you find it... Don't walk away." Morgana declared in a warning tone finally, and then disconnected the call.

Arthur squinted at his phone for a second, then threw it on his side table again, and got comfortable in the bed. He still could manage to catch a couple of hours of sleep probably, despite Morgana's insane attempt at calling him for no good reason at four in the morning. He briefly wondered if she has sleep dialed him. That was the only thing that made a lick of sense.

* * *

If you ever asked Arthur why his steps slowed down a few days later, and why he bothered glancing at the display of that particular shop, he would be able to give you no answer. In fact he won't even be able to answer why he gave his driver the day off and decided to walk to his office instead- it was a barely 15 minutes walk but Arthur never liked the rush hour crowd in the downtown, and liked to go from his very posh apartment, to his very posh office, in as much comfort as possible. But that day, he felt a restless itch under his skin, and something made him want to take the journey by foot. That same something made him stop in his tracks and stare transfixed at the display of an antique store.

At the display of a golden lamp in particular.

There was nothing fancy about the lamp, except that it was old, and unpolished, and the most normal looking thing in a display full of weird things, and yet Arthur couldn't look away. He felt drawn towards the antique, wanting to feel the cool metal under his palm, and rub the pad of his fingers on the markings on it.

Shaking himself out of his ridiculous fascination, Arthur took note of the shop's name. "Witch's Den". Snorting, he inwardly reprimanded himself for becoming that weird rich guy who wanted to buy stupid things because there was too much money to waste. Strangely, he had taken the same route to from his apartment to his office for the last 5 years, and he was sure there was not a single shop here that he wasn't completely familiar with, but Witch's Den was something that he had never noticed before. He would think it was a newly opened shop, but even from where he was standing he could see the dust settled in the display, and the chipped corners of the racks. It wasn't a new shop, and it certainly did not belong in this area, where everything was as modern as sleek as it comes.

Mentally shaking himself, Arthur continued his way to the office, but try as he might, he couldn't get the image of the lamp out of his mind. It stayed with him during the meetings with his advisory council and his father, it nagged him as he made calls to his important clients, and it chipped at the corners of his focus as he planned the next move in expanding his already substantial business empire.

Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon- business magnate extraordinaire, was born into a life of riches and luxury. Their company, Pendragon Inc. which Uther started as a small company that developed and sold electronic equipment, had grown into the a business empire. From the mobile phones to the military gadgets, Penn Tech. was coveted and very much in demand. He never knew what it was to want for something. He had a sharp mind for business and tactics so he involved himself in the company at young age, taking business, management and economics as subjects in his GCSEs, going to the best programs for further studies, and was now CEO of his father's company at an incredibly young age of 32. He loved his house, excelled at his job, and could be qualified as the one person who had it all in his life. If some days he wished he had someone to share his luxuries with, that his father looked at him as more than a subordinate, that he could just sit in his very comfortable couch with someone and have a movie marathon and share ridiculous jokes... well, nobody needed to know that.

On his way back from office, the sun was setting, an orange hue making the summer evening resemble something from old period movies. Witch's Den was somehow even more prominent now that Arthur had seen it once. Even from a distance Arthur could swear he could see the lamp that had fascinated him, glinting in the fading sunlight, and this time Arthur was too exhausted from his day to resist the draw. He stepped into the shop, which was as ridiculous as any other antique shop Arthur had ever visited, with things ranging from old tea kettles and obviously fake first editions of books, to old furniture and useless metallic artifacts scattered around a messy room. Ignoring everything, Arthur walked straight to the counter.

There was an old lady standing there, who was as cliché as one can get. Her white hair were messy, and tied in a braid that looked like it had not been redone in days; she wore many many strands of beaded jewelry that would have been in fashion at least a century ago, and her clothes were black, and dusty, just like the rest of the shop.

"Hello Arthur Pendragon." She said before he could even open his mouth to speak.

"Uh- Wha- How do you know my name?"

"Who doesn't know your name these days?" She titled her head to a side and looked at him with her creepy big eyes that were lined with black kohl, and seemed to be disturbingly old, even for her age. Her point was valid though, and Arthur just shrugged.

"I came here for the lamp that's on display?" Arthur started the sentence as a statement but ended it in a question; he had rarely ever felt so unsure before in his life.

"Of course you did." The witch smirked. No! Not witch! The shop owner! Arthur was too tired to be thinking straight right now, and maybe he shouldn't be making decisions like buying a freaking antique lamp after spending 14 hours in his office. Too late now.

"Can I see it?" He asked, and the lady nodded, and went to retrieve the said object, with a strange glint in her eyes.

She came back with the lamp cradled in her palms, and Arthur felt his entire focus narrow on it, a strange ringing sound in the back of his head increased till everything blocked out, and he felt a very visceral need to snatch the lamp away from the old woman's hands and hold it in his own. His hand twitched involuntarily towards it, and at the last possible second he glanced up at the woman's face, and asked,

"May I?"

That made her jerk her hand away, and look at him with evil mischief in her eyes. "No."

With that she went behind the counter, putting the lamp on the surface, between herself and Arthur, and Arthur wanted to scream with frustration because it was so close, and he wasn't allowed to touch it.

"I want to buy it."

"They always do." Her default tone was cryptic, but this was just menacing.

"How much?"

"You're sure, Son of Uther?"

"Yes. Stop kidding around. How much is it for?" Arthur could feel desperation creep into his voice, for some strange reason he couldn't even name. All he knew was that he wanted that lamp to belong to him, as soon as possible.

"One million dollars." She said, smiling. Arthur just gaped at her for a whole minute.

"Are you shitting me?" Arthur said through clenched teeth, making the smile on her face transform into a grin.

"You can afford it. Or do you think it's not worth it?"

"That's insane. Your price is more than this whole place."

"That's true." She seemed to ponder over the fact, but then looked him in the eye and stated. "But this lamp is of more value than this whole place too. That's what it's going to cost you. Take it or leave it, your choice. Stop wasting my time, if you aren't interested." Her voice grew harsh by the end, and Arthur, who was not used to someone talking to him like that, just wanted to stomp away from the place. Tomorrow he could buy the entire place, and make sure this insolent woman never found another place to set shop.

She seemed to have read up on his thoughts, because she gave him a feral grin and said, "Do remember though, if you leave without buying it today, you will never see it again."

She was bluffing. Arthur was sure she was bluffing, because no one else would spend a million dollar on a plain, old looking lamp... or was she? There was something in her tone that told Arthur she meant what she was saying.

So was he willing to risk it? He asked himself, and was furious and frustrated to find that the answer was in negative. Arthur had never wanted something as badly as he wanted that lamp, consequences be damned, and his heart sunk at the thought of losing his chance.

There were also Morgana's words ringing at the back of his mind _... When you find it... Don't walk away_... She could not be talking about this lamp, that was impossible, but what if she was? She had sounded so grave and sure.

"Okay." He bit out, accepting defeat, and took out his checkbook from his pocket.


	3. Chapter 3

His not-so-insubstantial bank account depleted of an incredible amount of money later, Arthur had a newspaper wrapped antique lamp in the hands as he walked back towards his apartment- newspaper wrapped! A _million_ dollars and the seller didn't even bother with a fancy box! This made the top of the list of stupid-things-Arthur-had-done-in-his-life, and there were some really stupid things on that list. This was worse than things like sleeping with Sophia when he knew she was after his father's money, and going skinny dipping into a lake on a college trip with Gwaine around, and ending up walking back to the hotel naked because Gwaine had apparently still been a 10 year old kid, who thought letting people's clothes wash away in the river was the height of good pranks.

He couldn't bring himself to regret it though, not with the wrapped bundle in his hands, somehow warm, as though the antique was emitting a low level heat, and perfect.

Wanting to be back in his apartment as soon as possible, he quickened his steps, and wondered what he was going to do with the lamp once he got home. Unsurprisingly, his mind drew a blank. Nevertheless, he hastened to his apartment building, rushed to the elevator and inserted the key to the second highest level - that was his apartment, posh, but less posh than that top floor, he had always insisted. Not that he couldn't afford the top floor; he just wanted to appear humble-to a degree.

Once he stepped out through the elevator, and dropped the key on the nearby table, he walked towards his living room. It the open plan apartment, which meant it was just a few steps from the elevator door to the couch. He gingerly settled down on the couch, carefully placing the lamp on the table in front of him.

After that, he let out a loud groan, and collapsed backwards into his very comfortable sofa, resting his head on the back rest, and put both of his palms on his face.

Argh! He was hopeless.

He stayed like that for a few minutes, eyes closed, and marveled at his whole new level of patheticness, but then the anticipation became too much to stall any longer. He sat upright again, and moved to unwrap the extremely valuable and most likely fake piece of antique crap he had bought.

He was wrong. It was beautiful!

The newspaper opened, and the lamp was lying in the middle of the mess, like the most stunning thing Arthur had ever seen, and he couldn't look away. Compulsively, his hand moved forward cupping the thing in his hands, and raised it to his face level, looking at the engravings. They seemed to be some sort of language, some words that he could not read, nevertheless his eyes roamed on them, fascinated. He tilted it this way and that way, letting the artificial light catch on it at different angles, mesmerized by the way the lamp reflected light. Also, he had been right about the lamp emitting heat too, because even though his apartment was internally cooled, the metal in his hand was warm to touch.

He placed it back on the table, after pushing away the newspaper wrapping to fall messily on the floor, and moved back and admired it. To anyone else, it might have been an old metal lamp, dusty and unpolished, but to Arthur, it felt like something more. Something magical, holding secrets, of both past and future. Something that belonged to him, and not just because he had paid for it. Something that Arthur had been waiting for all of his life.

Feeling like he needed a cup of tea, or ten, if he had started waxing poetic about a freaking lamp, he got up and stepped into a kitchen to put the kettle on boil. His mind was not any more organized when he came back with the tea, than it was when he had left to make it, so he just sank down into the couch and turned on the TV. There were some boring politicians debating about things that Arthur was not interested in, but the background noise was pleasant. As Arthur sipped his tea, his left hand absently traced the engravings on the lamp. His thumb moved on it, back and forth, once, twice... _thrice._

"Thank Fuck." A voice suddenly said, and Arthur was startled enough that the cup fell from his hand, the hot tea scalding his hand as the cup shattered on the tiled floor.

"Ow." He exclaimed, shaking his hand, knowing it might blister, if the way his skin had turned angry red was any indication, and then looked up to see the reason he was so startled.

And stared.

And stared some more.

Then raised his hand that wasn't burned, and slapped himself across the face.

"Yes. Yes. OH MY GOD! AM I LOSING MY MIND? OR AM I DREAMING? THIS CAN'T BE REAL! Can we for ONCE skip the panic, and accept that I am real? Because seriously, this is getting downright insulting."

Arthur gaped some more, his burn forgotten while his brain screeched to an absolute halt. There was a Genie- an honest to God, Aladdin's Genie, together with the smoke like lower half, and the semi transparent consistency in front of him. The difference was, it wasn't blue, or barrel chested, or old with a beard. It was green, with a mop of black hair, sharp blue eyes, wearing a red muffler around his neck, and a couple of golden bracelets on his wrists. It looked remarkably like a human, except the fact that it's lower half was smoke, it was semi transparent, and it came out of a fucking lamp.

"Helloooo. Anybody there?" A hand waved in front of his eyes, and he jerked back, practically shrinking into the sofa.

"I am..."

"Not mad."

"Then..."

"No... Not dreaming either."

"Then probably..."

"No Arthur, you aren't dead either."

"How do you know my name?" That was the first thing Arthur had said that came out remotely like a full sentence, without stuttering.

"I heard you talk to the witch, of course."

"Witch?"

"Are you like... slow? Most rich and pretty people are, so I won't judge you. Oh and you are also blond, so that's understandable. Yes Witch. She doesn't have a name. Everyone just calls her that, which, you would think is a dead give away, but nobody really cottons on to the fact that, you know? She is _actually_ a witch. . You bought me from her... thanks for that by the way, I was extremely sick of that shop, and I have to say the change of location is much appreciated." The green creature wolf whistled as he said the last thing, his eyes roaming appreciatively as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Are you... Genie?" Arthur croaked, because that's the only thing he could think of.

"Genie? What's that? No. I am Merlin. Nice to meet you." The Genie extended his hands, a smile on his face, nodding at Arthur to shake his hand, while Arthur stared dumbstruck.

"Come on... I won't bite. Just a handshake." Arthur extended his hand on autopilot, and Merlin clasped it in both of his, giving it an enthusiastic shake.

"Very nice to meet you, my new master." He said in a very fake obedient tone.

As if touching the Genie was what was needed to make Arthur believe that this was not a dream or an insane hallucination, he said in an awed tone,

"You are real."

"I am so glad we established that." Genie- what did he say his name was... Merlin, that's right, Merlin- said in a cheerful voice.

"There is a genie in my antique lamp."

"I told you... Merlin. Not Genie. Please don't make me repeat myself."

"No, what I mean is, you are a magical... Genie... "

"Oh. You mean it like _that_! No, you got it all wrong again. I am a warlock which is like, so much better than a Genie. I am the strongest of my kind, blah blah, please don't ask me how I ended up being trapped in a lamp and sold like a prostitute by a witch, because that's a long and embarrassing story that I don't even know if I remember the correct version of anymore."

"What the fuck." Arthur muttered to himself, making Merlin grin.

Suddenly realizing his hand was throbbing; he glanced at it, and then looked at the broken cup in despair, giving Merlin an accusatory glance.

"Why are you giving me the stink eye? It's not my fault you have a weak heart." He shrugged, which looked just ridiculous on someone whose body was smoke from waist down.

"I am sorry I wasn't expecting a freaking GENIE to come out of my lamp." Arthur thought that if he was going crazy anyway, it would make sense to go all out. That's why he continued on to say, "So it _is_ your fault. It's only right that you fix it... so why don't you?" And extended his hand forward.

Merlin had the gall to look away, sheepish, saying "I can't do that... Sorry." He sounded somewhat sad when he said so, but Arthur was having none of that.

"What? What kind of a genie," Merlin glared, so Arthur corrected, "Warlock! What kind of warlock are you that you can't even heal a burnt hand?"

"The thing is..."

"Let me tell you what kind... the absolutely useless kind." Arthur finished, cutting in before Merlin could explain himself. Then he got up, ignoring the offended warlock, and went towards the kitchen to hold his hand under water.

It came as a surprise when Merlin followed, a wisp of smoke trailing all the way back to the lamp, muttering,

"Could you be any more of a prat?"

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows climbed up at the insult.

"Prat! I called you a prat."

"I distinctly remember you also called me Master a couple of minutes ago."

"Yes. Let me correct myself. You are a Master Prat."

"Worst slave genie ever! Just my luck." Arthur looked at the ceiling and complained to the skies.

"Shut up! Now do you want to know how awesome I am?"

"No... Not really."

"Trust me... You want to know."

"No! Trust me Merlin. I really really don't. You are probably a hallucination of my sleep deprived mind anyway and would be gone when I wake up..."

"Yes you do! And No I am not. Not a hallucination and am not going anywhere either... I am sorry but you're stuck with me. Until..."

"Next thing I know you would be telling me I get three wishes, and I can ask for anything I want... and would be warning me to use them wisely. God! My exhausted brain, or subconscious, or whatever, is seriously messed up."

The ringing silence following his sentence made the sound of tap water grate on Arthur's nerves. He turned the tap off and dried his hands with the dish towel. Then, full of trepidation, he turned towards his hallucination, and gaped.

"Seriously?"His voice was an embarrassing squeak by now.

"Uh-" to his credit, Merlin looked extremely wrong footed, and there was an exaggerated green tinge on his cheeks that Arthur could swear was a blush.

"That's fucked up!"

"You think I don't know that? You think I like the fact that I only get to do three spells every couple of decades and am basically impotent the rest of the time. Trust me, it sucks." Merlin sounded frustrated and forlorn, and he played with the gold bracelets on his wrists, tugging at the one in his right hand with his left, as if trying to take them off, but not really making an effort.

 _He isn't even real_ , Arthur told himself again, and proceeded to ignore the hidden hurt in Merlin's tone.

"Okay. Three wishes aren't so bad. First one... heal my hand."

Extending his hand in imitation of just a few minutes ago, and looked at the warlock expectantly. That caused the look of hurt from said warlock's face to evaporate, only to be replaced by one of irritation.

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean no, Master. I won't spend my rare three chances of being allowed to do magic on something that's going to heal in a couple of days. Not happening." Saying that, he folded his arms in front of him, as if challenging Arthur to defy him.

"I knew it. .Ever." Arthur said in smug satisfaction.

"Oi, Not a Genie. Warlock."

"Whatever. I am too tired for this. I am going to sleep, and you can do whatever it is you do when you are in the lamp." Without bothering to look at Merlin and wait for a reaction, he rubbed his hands on his face, and stepped away.

Remembering something, Arthur turned back to look and Merlin and said, "Not that I am expecting you to be here when I wake up, but in the slight chance this isn't a fucked up dream... Do me a favor," he waited for Merlin to nod before saying, "Never call me Master again."

"So what do you suppose I should call you?"

"Sir would work."

"Sire."

"No. Sir. As in boss. Everyone at work calls me that, and it doesn't feel as creepy as Master."

"Sire it is." Merlin said cheekily, and sighing, Arthur turned away again.

"By the way, just saying, this went well."

"You call this well?" Arthur said incredulously, without turning back.

"Yeah. You have no idea how badly it could've gone. You could've thrown the lamp in the fireplace, or buried it in the ground, or thrown it in the sea or a well, lost for ages until the Witch could find me again. She always does. Trust me, it has happened before. More often than I care to count." Even without looking at him, Arthur could tell he had just shuddered exaggeratedly.

"Ah well... I am a generous master." Arthur smiled despite himself.

"Much obliged Your highness." And now he was bowing. Arthur could see the movement out of the corner of his eye, and shaking his head in exasperation, he reached for his bedroom handle.

Before entering his room, he couldn't help throwing back a last comment,

"Night Merlin. Don't be real in the morning."

"Night Prat. I will make sure you are thoroughly disappointed."

* * *

 _A/N: I was planning on writing like a total 3-5k words for this story but it kind of got a life of it's own and now I have no idea if I am writing this, or if it's writing itself. So it's probably going to be a 25 or 30k words monster. I love all of you people who leave kudos and comment. Thank you._


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur woke up after a night of restless sleep filled with nightmares of smog blurring his vision, of red flags and green magic , of wars and sword fights and dragons, and of running around in narrow winding streets, breathless, trying to escape from something chasing him. Through all of it, there was always a deep teasing voice murmuring nonsense in the background. Rather than annoying him though, the nonsense was a comfort, the voice a very pleasant companion.

As he felt himself coming to, he lay in bed with his eyes closed, and marveled at the sheer craziness his brain could come up with when exhausted _._ The rest of the nightmares were one thing,but _a magical lamp and a Genie! Really Arthur?_ He mentally reprimanded a sheepish looking image of himself, and was glad to be finally awake.

Stretching his hands above his head, he yawned as opened his eyes... and promptly regretted it.

Right in front of his bed, in the direct field of his vision... hovered the said Genie he had dreamt.

Hovered was the correct word to use because Merlin couldn't stand, so he was floating in the air... literally- with a trail of smoke going out from under the door to the living room outside, probably connecting to the lamp there.

"Arthur! You are up." Merlin exclaimed gleefully when he saw Arthur opening his eyes.

 _Nope!_ He thought, and hastily closed his eyes again... willing himself to fall back asleep, and wake up to find last night had been a dream after all. It was too early in the morning to deal with such insanity, or the prospect of maybe, probably contacting his therapist. He hated his therapist.

Arthur had finally convinced himself that the last few seconds were a continuation of the nightmare from the last night, and that _now_ was when he was finally up, when he felt sunlight on his face. Apparently someone had opened the blinds.

"What the hell are you doing?" Too annoyed to be appalled at his ongoing hallucination, he opened his eyes and glared at the Genie wrecking his morning routine.

Merlin, in a way that was a touch adorable, was lost to the world at the moment. One of the walls of Arthur's room was completely made of panels of transparent glass, with two panels being sliding windows. They were usually covered with blinds because Arthur had odd hours sometimes, and let's be honest, nobody ever likes to wake up because of sun shining on their face at God awful o'clock. When drawn though, they showed a spectacular view of the city below.

Merlin, the idiot, had shoved the blind covering one of the panels to a side like the unrefined peasant he was and was now standing with his nose pressed to the glass, palms flat on the wall. His open mouth was misting up the window... Arthur was sure. Enchanted, is what he looked.

"Oh! This is beautiful." Merlin whispered.

"You are talking like you haven't seen it before." Arthur was whispering too, for a reason he couldn't identify, other than the fact that he didn't want to break the moment.

"But I haven't. Not this world. Not this decade. And even when I did get to see the views, when my masters would allow me instead of keeping me locked in enchanted chests, I have never been so high up. This is... magical."

Merlin's voice was reverent... almost worshiping. Arthur supposed the view from his apartment _was_ beautiful, but he had never realized it could inspire so much awe in someone. Still... he was an asshole and he had a reputation to maintain, so he whined,

"I see you are still here then."

"Told you, not going anywhere." Merlin said distractedly.

"Stop gawking...It makes you look even more stupid than usual, and that's a feat I didn't even realize was possible."

Ignoring Merlin's sputtering and the nasty look he threw his way while backing away from the window, he got up and stretched again, popping his spine and rolling his shoulders. Then he stepped forward, reached around Merlin, and pulled the thread that raised the blinds.

"... and that's how civilized people open the blinds." He smirked, causing Merlin to throw him an even nastier glance, and started walking towards the bathroom.

"Thank you so much for enlightening your poor backwards magical slave, My Lord." He bit out behind his back.

"I think we established you would call me Sir yesterday. None of this My Lord bullshit." He turned his head to glare accusingly at Merlin, who just shrugged and turned back towards the window to stare at the spectacle below, seemingly forgetting that Arthur even existed.

Shaking his head, he stepped into the washroom, and locked it behind himself. Not that it would actually help if Merlin felt like entering it. He was sure he had locked his bedroom door, and look where Merlin was.

"Don't come in here." He called out, because who knew if magical beings of questionable powers knew what personal space meant.

"I know Arthur. Washrooms are not a new invention... or did you not know that?" A distracted voice replied from outside, and Arthur supposed Merlin was had gone back to gawking.

* * *

Taking off his clothes and stepping into warm shower felt like a blessing, and Arthur involuntarily groaned, as he let the hot water wash away the tension in his shoulders and the worries nagging his mind. He thought about the day ahead, the meetings that he had to have with his board of directors, and the clients he needed to entertain. Inevitably, his mind went back to Merlin.

He had firmly established the fact that Merlin wasn't going anywhere and wasn't a figment of his exhausted mind. So what was he? Was he the manifestation of Arthur's insanity? Did somebody slip home some weird hallucinogenic drugs whose effect lasts for a really long time? Or was he was really what he claimed to be... A warlock.

The idea sounded ridiculous, but then so did the existence of a lamp genie.

Arthur was sure he could not have imagined Merlin, not with his guileless smiles and cheeky retorts, even if he was remarkably similar to one of his favorite characters from childhood. Because to him, the Genie had been perfect, and if he had to come up with any changes at all, Arthur was sure he would fail at it. Also because Arthur was pretty shit at wild leaps of imaginations - and Merlin was as wild as it came- but nobody needed to know that.

There was also the fact that Merlin felt real. He had shaken his hand, it was solid and warm, his demeanor was refreshingly unique, and his expressions extremely genuine. There was something about him that made Arthur want to believe him, something that urged him not to dismiss him as a mere hallucination. Whatever he was, right now Arthur wanted to give him a chance and damn the consequences.

Turning off the shower, Arthur realized that he had not brought clothes into the shower with him, so used to living alone that he had not thought of the need. Instead of feeling embarrassed though, Arthur thought that it was Merlin's fault for being in his room uninvited in the first place, and if he was centuries old Genie like he claimed to be, he had probably seen a hell of a lot worse things than Arthur's fit body. He wrapped a towel around his lower half, hiding his privates because he wasn't completely shameless, and stepped out.

He shouldn't have worried.

Merlin was _still_ staring out the window like a simpleton, and didn't even bother glancing Arthur's way when the shower door opened. Arthur counted it as a blessing and stepped into the changing room. Wearing a grey Armani suit, he stepped out and cleared his throat meaningfully.

Merlin jumped away from window like it had shocked him, and started looking around, pretending to act normal. It made Arthur throw his head back and laugh. And _that_ made Merlin's ears to become a darker shade of green.

"Now that you have stopped admiring the view, can we talk?"

"Oh yeah!" Suddenly looking alert and a lot more excited, he said, "Magic! You thought of what you want me to do for you?" He was practically bouncing with energy.

Arthur felt like a jerk when he said, "Not yet." It made Merlin's face fall.

"I want to do magic Arthur. It's been ages. Hurry up would you?"

"Give me some ideas then? What's the typical requests?"

"Money, girls, looks, power, more money... it's not really creative, what people want in life. Sometimes they make me want to heal someone they love but let me warn you, I am pretty hopeless at healing."

"You are deluded Merlin. Let me assure you, you are pretty hopeless at everything."

"Arse." Merlin groused, but he was smiling so bright that the insult barely registered.

"Hmm..."Arthur walked to the window Merlin was still standing in front of, and looked out, and wondered aloud. "What do I want that I can't get myself? Money, check. Power, check. Insanely good looks, check. Girls falling at my feet? Every day. I don't know Merlin; I really think you came to the wrong person."

"You are the one who bought me, you Prat! Should have thought of this before you went ahead with it."

"I didn't know I was buying a magical lamp that granted wishes though. I was being a spoiled rich bastard and buying a ridiculously expensive fake antique." Arthur retorted.

"Well, whatever your reasons, you are stuck with me now. So better get over with it already, make a wish."

Arthur smiled, which made him notice his crooked front teeth in his reflection in the glass. Hm, he supposed there was something he could ask Merlin's help for.

"So you see, I do have a flaw," Arthur said dramatically, turning to look Merlin in the eyes, who was rolling them skywards and sighing, "My teeth aren't exactly straight. Fix them." He ordered.

"What... No!" Merlin sputtered.

"What do you mean no? You can't?"

"Of course I can. I would appreciate it if you stop underestimating my powers. But I believe a _dentist_ can fix them."

"Yes, but I am too old to wear braces now." Arthur argued.

"Not my problem. I am not letting you waste your wishes on something petty. "

"Wow. You really are a worst Genie than I even imagined."

"And you are even slower than I imagined. Warlock Arthur! Not a genie. Besides, I like your teeth. They are nice. Make you look less like you have done a thousand plastic surgeries to get an annoyingly perfect face." Merlin flushed green as he said that, embarrassed to be caught praising Arthur's looks.

"Why Merlin... I think you just complimented me."

"I just called you a diva."

"Same thing." Arthur said, making Merlin roll his eyes again.

"And look at that," Arthur continued after glancing at his watch, "Your constant nattering have made me late. Some people have actual jobs you know, rather than just lazing around in a lamp. Gotta go."

He started towards the door, and stopped when Merlin said,

"Um... Sire?"He sounded obedient for a change, and that made Arthur very suspicious.

"What?"

"Can you take me too? Just put the lamp in your briefcase... "

"No way!"

"Please?"

"Why would you even want to? I am just going to office."

"I will go stir crazy here alone, and there is so much I want to see."

"The world hasn't changed all that much in the last decade Merlin."

"Of course it has. But even last time, my master was a library owner of all things, and he locked me with the books every day, never allowing me to go out. I have read about the world and how it has evolved, have heard what goes on because sometimes the TV would be on in the shop, and sometimes the customers trickling in would say things, but I haven't _seen_ anything in half a century. Been practically blind for all it was worth. I would understand if you leave me here, or lock me up someplace. Lord knows many of the previous ones have done it. But..." Merlin said, his voice infused with a heartfelt plea."Please?"

 _No!_ This was a horrible idea. He shouldn't.

"Okay." Arthur said, and promptly wanted to slap himself. The look of pure joy on Merlin's face when he glanced his way made him think that however horrible the day was going to be, it was totally worth it.


	5. Chapter 5

He was wrong.

So wrong.

Nothing could have made this worth it.

It started when Arthur went to stand by his car, briefcase in hand, lamp safely in the briefcase, and Merlin quiet inside the lamp. Tom, his driver, was softly talking to his daughter, Guinevere. She was a beautiful young girl in her early twenties, having a gorgeous dark and clear skin, and curly hair done in a simple braid. She gave Arthur a bright smile, and said a shy "Hello", before giving his father a peck on his cheek and walking away, probably to the bus stop that would take her to her college.

Arthur climbed into his car, instructing Tom to take him to office. A moment later, green smoke came out of the seams of his briefcase, and formed one rogue Warlock, grinning from ear to ear.

Arthur looked at Tom in alarm and let out a "Merlin!" through clenched teeth as a warning.

"I am one of the most powerful sorcerers to have ever existed Arthur. I think I know how to make myself invisible to people when I like." He said, condescension dripping from his tone, then continued musing, " Anyway, no one can see me unless you explicitly give me permission. That's zero fun I tell you. I probably shouldn't have told you that."

Quickly looking around himself, he threw a hasty "Posh car by the way," Arthur's way, and then proceeded to press his nose to the window, much like he had in his room, and let out a low admiring whistle.

That was when Arthur clued in to the fact that bringing Merlin along with him was a grave mistake. What was he _thinking_ , bringing his own personal hallucination that nobody else could see, to his _office_ of all places.

When passing through the place where Witch's Den was located, Arthur briefly wondered if he could just return the lamp, but scanning the shop names, he realized the shop just wasn't there. It wasn't just a change of shop names, or some other shop in its stead. It was just... not there. Like it had blinked out from existence.

"She really wasn't joking."

"About what?" Merlin asked distractedly.

"About me never finding the lamp again if I left without it yesterday evening."

"Uh-huh." Was the helpful reply, but Arthur felt insanely grateful for the insanity that had overcome him yesterday. Buying the lamp felt right, and Merlin or no Merlin, Arthur knew he would've regretted not buying it if he had missed his chance.

He grew to regret thinking that way the moment he asked Freya to bring him coffee and a sandwich, and Merlin hovered behind her rolling his eyes at him, raising and eyebrow and saying, "Really Arthur? You treat everyone as slaves don't you?"

Arthur waited till Freya had left his office before retorting, "And whose fault is it that I skipped breakfast?"

"Um... Yours?"

"That's right... No! No that's not right... it's your fault with your stupid ramblings and your head in the clouds."

"Yeah yeah, I am sorry" Merlin replied, very insincerely, and started wandering around the room, running his fingers over the files in the cupboard, and Arthur's Vinyl Records collection, looking up at Arthur questioningly.

"I like how they sound." Arthur felt like defending himself, which made Merlin raise both his hands and shrug his shoulders, shaking his head, as if saying, _Hey, I'm not judging_. Then he went to the side wall, which was made of all glass, much like the one in his bed room, and eyed the foot balls, displayed on the shelf in front of it. He picked one of them up, spun it on his finger and then proceeded to look at Arthur _very judgmentally_.

So Arthur hoarded signed foot balls. Sue him.

Arthur raised his eyebrow in response to Merlin's look, and went back to typing on his laptop, ignoring the Warlock.

He lost the track of time, and was startled when Freya came back with his breakfast, leaving it on his table without any comment, and went out to sit on the Secretary's table/cabin thing outside his office.

Something occurred to him when he was eating his sandwich, and he asked Merlin, who was taking out every single Record from its cover and observing it, one by one.

"Can you make it snow? Like right now, in summers?"

"Yes...?" Merlin replied slowly.

"Ah."

"You want me to?"

"No... Not really. Was just asking."

"Arse."

And went back to rifling through Arthur's things. Arthur thought that he should've minded it more than he did.

"What about stopping time?" Arthur asked a while later.

"What about it?

"Can you do it?"

"Sure."

"...and teleportation?"

"Yes."

"What about..."

Merlin cut in before Arthur could finish his question, "I can make a forest flourish in a desert, and I can crumble mountains into dust, and evaporate a sea. I can start a war, and I can kill thousands of soldiers just by wishing it so. I can speed up birth of a new star, or be the cause of destruction of one. I know I can do all that, because I can feel infinite magic bubbling up just under my skin, itching to be let out to play. I know because I have done all that and more... So what is your point Arthur? What do you want me to do?"

Arthur was struck dumb for a few seconds after Merlin stopped speaking. He felt a stupid, treacherous hope bubbling up under his skin though. If Merlin was telling the truth, if Merlin indeed was so powerful, then the one impossible thing, the thing Arthur had wished for since before he could even remember may not be as impossible any more.

"Can you bring my mother back from dead?" Arthur asked in a hushed whisper.

"Oh Arthur." Merlin's voice was full of so much pity that Arthur wanted to throw the lamp out of the window of 30th floor of the building he was currently sitting in.

"Sorry. Forget I said anything." Arthur concentrated on the words he was typing in his laptop, replying to his father that yes he remembers that there is a board of directors meeting at 1:00pm and yes he would be there, but the screen seemed to blur in front of his eyes.

He startled out of his moment of forced detachment with he felt a hand on his. Looking up, he noticed that what he had thought was pity, was actually empathy and understanding. Merlin looked at him with kindness of a being that was centuries old, and had seen things he could hardly hope to grasp.

"I could. Maybe. But I won't. I have never done that before. I don't remember really, I think I made myself forget, but I know I lost someone. I have lost many people, but I lost someone very important once, very very long time ago. And I never even tried to bring them back, although I have never wanted to do anything as much as I wanted to do that. And no one was stopping me. Because having infinite power, more power than is natural for any being to have, gives you this innate sense of wrong. Messing with life and death is wrong. If I do bring back your mother, there is no knowing what I will bring back... You understand that right?"

This was the longest Merlin had ever spoken, and in the most serious and grave tone. There was long forgotten regret and sadness in his voice when he talked about losing someone, and suddenly Arthur felt ashamed that he even thought of asking something like that. He wanted to see his mother, God! How he had always fantasized about seeing her again, and hugging her, and telling her how much he loved and missed her, but Merlin was right. Even if he did manage to bring her back, there was no guarantee she would even be the same woman who had given birth to him.

He looked into Merlin's eyes, and gave a sharp nod. Merlin gave a small regretful smile, and backed away.

"If you keep denying my requests like this, you might be stuck with me till end of times, or at least until I am dead." Desperately trying to lighten the mood, Arthur gave a forced smile, and hoped his voice didn't come out as shaky as he felt.

"Well your company is slightly better than the Witch's."

"Why Merlin. I am flattered."

"Slightly!" Merlin emphasized.

That was when his intercom beeped, signaling that Freya was calling. Wondering what his secretary wanted, he answered,

"Any problem Freya?"

"Um... No? It's just that, you seem to be talking, and I thought maybe you forgot to dial me before you started giving orders... Uh- so yeah."

Arthur wanted hit his head on the desk when he realized what she was saying. The office had glass walls! Or like, two glass walls. One showing the city outside and one towards the rest of the Pendragon Inc. offices. Which meant Freya could see Arthur talking to Merlin, and considering Merlin was invisible to everyone but Arthur, Freya could see Arthur talking to think air.

If he wasn't careful he would end up in a psych ward. Arthur had begun to wonder that maybe that won't be such a bad thing.

He threw one accusing glance towards Merlin, who looked like he was barely holding back his mirth as he gave a shrug as if to say, _how is it my fault?,_ and replied to Freya with what he hoped was a convincing lie.

"Oh no. I was just reading my next presentation out loud. Trying to see how to words sounded."

"Uh- Okay. You sure you don't want anything? Some water?"

"I am fine. Get back to your work."

"Okay Sir."

He made sure the intercom was off, and then looked at Merlin and said pointedly,

"And that's how you say Sir."

"Okay Sire." Merlin said in an accurate imitation of Freya's voice, startling Arthur.

"What... was that?"

"Too much time on hand, when I was rotting away in the lamp. I entertained myself by imitating voices of the customers and stuff." Merlin answered unapologetically, in Freya's voice.

"Just... stop! Don't you ever do that again. That's just...wrong."

"Okay Sire." Merlin answered in his own voice this time, and Arthur was too relieved to even point out that it was Sir, not _Sire._

* * *

Arthur was busy finishing up his reports that he was going to be showing his father at the board meeting, when the door of his office suddenly and loudly opened, and in strode Morgana, in her high heels and sleeveless dress that reached up to mid thigh. She looked lovely in light blue, but then Morgana looked lovely in every color.

"Brother." She exclaimed happily, and then walked quickly to his table before he could even get up, and pecked him on both cheeks.

Arthur threw a look outside, where Freya was busy ignoring him. He had specially warned her-multiple times-to let him know before letting Morgana in, but apparently Freya was more scared of his sister than him... and for good reason.

Morgana was as scary as she was beautiful.

"What are you doing here Morgs?" He asked, trying to convey annoyance, but he knew his tone was fond.

"Can't a sister want to check up on his baby brother?" Morgana asked slyly, which made Merlin, who was sitting on shelf and swinging his legs back and forth, let out an amused snort.

Throwing what he hoped was a scathing look towards the annoying warlock, he looked at Morgana, complaining, "I am hardly a baby any more am I?"

"To me sweet heart, you will always be a baby." She pulled his left cheek with her thumb and forefinger, causing Arthur to bat her hand away indignantly, and Merlin to howl with laughter.

"Oh!" Morgana suddenly gasped, and that's when Arthur realized that he had kept the golden lamp on his desk, in plain sight, when he had taken it out of his briefcase. Morgana was looking right at it. Merlin might be invisible, but the lamp definitely wasn't.

She was looking at it with what looked suspiciously like tears in her eyes, and then she looked up at Arthur with so much joy and hope, that Arthur had to look away.

"You bought it." She spoke quietly and earnestly.

"Uh- yeah." Arthur had no fucking clue what to say to her at this point. Did she seriously know he was going to buy a magical lamp before he had even seen it? How was this his life?

Very delicately, with the care of someone who was touching a fragile thing, she lifted her hand, and rubbed her index finger on the golden lamp. On his side, Merlin gasped out loudly.

"It's beautiful." She said in a very reverent tone.

"Yes." Arthur could not deny that.

"Oh Arthur," she looked up at him again, and then lunged forward and hugged him really tightly. "I am so glad you bought it. I saw so many dreams. In some of them you bought it, and were happy and alive. In many many others, you walked away, you left it there. I always woke up from those dreams crying, because you died, or you were hurt beyond measure, and were always, unfailingly, miserable." She spoke very fast into his shoulder, and he could feel a little wetness seeping in through his clothes, making him realize in horror that she was crying.

He brought up a hand and rubbed it soothingly across Morgana's back.

"They were just dreams Morgs."

"No they weren't." She said fiercely, as she disentangled herself from Arthur's embrace, and wiped her tears away. "But you did buy it... so it's alright. Everything is alright" She said, smiling.

"If that gives you any comfort... I am glad I did."

"Me too Arthur. Me too." She whispered, and then darted forward to leave a tender kiss on Arthur's forehead and quickly mumbled a quiet "Thank you." After that she rushed out of the office in the same speed she had stormed in.

There was silence in the room after she was gone. At length, Merlin said in an awed voice.

"Wow."

"Sorry you had to see that." Arthur couldn't help defending his beloved sister, "she has always had trouble sleeping and had weird nightmares. No amount of treatment helps. And she hates it when we try to treat her like she is sick. So most days, it's better for her and all involved if we let her believe in some of the dreams. She is amazing otherwise."

"That's not what I am talking about Arthur." Merlin replied, still awed, "She is magic."

Arthur's head whipped around to face Merlin. "What are you talking about?"

"She is not lying about those dreams. She might be a Seer. She has magic. Old magic. I felt it when she touched the lamp. The brilliance and purity of it was... beautiful."

"You are insane. My sister is no witch. She is a normal girl who just has troubled sleep." Arthur refused to believe him. It can't be true... or could it?

"Don't be an asshole Arthur," Merlin threw him a very annoyed glance. "There is no reason she can't be both normal _and_ magic. Magic isn't a sickness or a disease. It just is. It's a part of you. A beautiful wonderful, magnificent part of you. So I would appreciate it if you never say the word _witch_ in the tone you would say the word _freak_ , again."

"That's not what I meant Merlin. And you know it."

"Didn't you?" He glared.

"Yes. There is nothing wrong with magic. My sister just doesn't have it. She isn't like you." Arthur insisted.

"You can pretend to be blind to it if you wish. Your sister is marvelous, is all I am saying." Merlin said dismissively.

Refusing to think about this any further, Arthur immersed himself in completing his report once more.

* * *

The meeting was going as boring as they usually do. Each division head droned on and on about the new policies, and what were their effects. Some of them proposed new divisions and new products that would bring in more profit, and then there was a debate about the pros and cons of the idea. Some boasted about their successfully completed or their newly acquired contracts. In the end Geoffrey Monmouth, their financial adviser, started listing the expenditure and profits of the month of each division, and it went on for so long that Arthur thought he might doze off.

"Wow, so this is what being a CEO is like?" A voice said directly in Arthur's ear, startling him so much that he almost jumped out of his chair. He turned and glared at the entirely remorseless green devil he had had the misfortune of acquainting himself with.

"Arthur? Everything alright?" Uther's voice made him snap his head away from Merlin's twinkling eyes, and to his father's cold and annoyed ones.

"Yes. Sorry Father." Arthur shifted in his seat like a school boy chastisized by the teacher for not paying attention.

Uther glared at him for another minute, and then without looking away, said, "Continue Geoffrey."

"Damn. That's your father. No wonder you are always so constipated. He is scary." Merlin was speaking at his side, and his lips involuntarily twitched. He refused to look in Merlin's direction though, because he was sure he would burst into very unmanly giggles if he did so.

Geoffrey continued his monotonous reading of the reports, and Merlin commented,

"We should record him talking. And then sell the recording to pharmaceutical companies. Better than any sleeping pill... any day."

Arthur couldn't help the chuckle that left his mouth at the words, and he hastily tried to cover it with a fake cough. Uther threw him an angry glance.

After the meeting was over, Uther told Arthur to stay back, as he shook hands with everyone and thanked them.

Full of trepidation, he waited, knowing no good was going to come off of it.

"Arthur. Sit down." His father finally turned to him when the room was empty. Merlin floated at his side for moral support and he felt ridiculously grateful for it.

"The way you behaved today was unacceptable Arthur." Uther didn't waste time on pleasantries.

"Sorry Father." Was all he could say.

"Sorry is not enough. I want to know what the hell got into you."

"I... didn't sleep well yesterday." Arthur could hardly tell him he had bought a magical lamp, which had a genie in it, and was distracting him during the meeting.

"I understand. But such behavior cannot go on in the office. You have hardly been getting any rest these days. I want you to finish your work today, and then take the rest of the week off."

What! No! It was just Wednesday. That would mean he would be stuck at home for four days! Alone.

"But..."

"No buts. Consider it boss's order." Uther said sternly.

"Take it you Prat! Who the hell says no to holidays." Merlin said at his side, which made Arthur realize that his four days won't be alone. No! It was worse. Four days, of being stuck at home, with _Merlin_.

There was nothing he could do though, so he just nodded. Uther got up from his seat, and put a hand on his shoulder, in a rare gesture of fatherly affection.

"Take care son. You work too hard." Arthur gaped after Uther's retreating back, in shock.

"I take it back," Merlin said next to him, "he isn't so bad."

* * *

"Come on Arthur. Its 5:00pm. Everyone is leaving. Can't we leave too? I am bored." Merlin whined from where he was lounging on the sofa.

"You have been stuck inside one shop, for the last decade or more, and you are bored now?"Arthur asked, while typing furiously, leaving instructions for whoever would be handling his projects for the next 4 days. It's not like he didn't trust them... it was just that he didn't trust anyone as much as he trusted himself. He was afraid he would come back after his forced leave and find the company bankrupt.

"That was then. This is now. And being stuck in an office watching you type is worse than looking at telly, and listening to the Witch. Trust me. This is as boring as it gets. Deathly boring." Merlin moaned dramatically.

"I have a new idea for a wish."

"Yes... What is it?" Merlin seemed interested despite himself. He really must be desperate to do magic.

"I want you to not speak until explicitly spoken to."

"Never gonna happen." Merlin retorted, collapsing back on the sofa with a dull thud.

"A man can try." Arthur said, grinning. It was fun, irritating Merlin, "Although I didn't expect anything better from you, considering you are the worst warlock to have ever existed."

"At least you called me a Warlock this time."

"I can be generous sometimes." Arthur said, as he closed the lid of his laptop, and started packing his briefcase, putting the lamp lying on his table in it, and inadvertently violently jerking Merlin from where he was lying.

"A little warning would've been nice." Merlin complained.

"I didn't know you would be so physically connected to the lamp."Arthur refused to apologize for something that he had no idea about.

"Oh and the real physical smoke coming out of the lamp and connecting to my torso gave you no idea whatsoever, dimwit?"

"You want to leave, or not?"

"Yes."

"Say thank you then..."

"Thank you Sire."

"Much better CabbageHead."

Arthur left the office smiling, with Merlin saying " _You really need to work on your insults_ ," as he trailed behind him. All in all, the day could have gone worse.

* * *

 _A/N: I shamelessly accept that I based Arthur's office to look like Harvey specter's does in Suits. It seemed fitting._


	6. Chapter 6

"So... I have been thinking." Arthur mused, while half heartedly eating take away Chinese rice on his kitchen counter. He had offered food to Merlin, but he had just given him a slanted eyebrows look, and Arthur had taken the hint.

"Always a bad idea. You will hurt something up there."

"Shut up Merlin. So... I have been thinking about what I want."

"And?"

"And I realized I don't really need anything from you."

"You have said that a thousand times till now. You could ask me to end world hunger or something, but of course you are too big of a Prat for that." Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Can you end world hunger?"

"No. But it's the intent that counts."

"Exactly. Would you let me finish what I am saying this time?"

"Alright Your Highness, carry on."

"So, I might have everything I could ever want from life but," he paused for the dramatic effect which made Merlin roll his eyes skyward again, "someone else might not." He finished dramatically.

Merlin suddenly paled- which is to say his face started to look much more white than it did green. "You are going to give me away?" He asked, dismayed.

"What? No! Wait... I can do that?"

"Yes you can. You are my owner right now, but if you give me to someone else, willingly- or sell me-then I belong to them."

Arthur thought about giving the lamp to someone else, and be rid of the pain in the ass he had never asked for. He was surprised by how distasteful the idea seemed to him, and he felt a surge of jealousy for the person who would become the owner of the lamp, and of Merlin, after he was done with his wishes. It didn't matter that it might not even happen again in his lifetime, that Merlin might serve another long after he was dust... He did not want that. Merlin was _his._

But that was thought for some other time.

"I am not cruel enough to inflict your company on anyone else." Arthur proclaimed, and was relieved to find the color returning to Merlin's face even as he retorted, "Too bad. I was hoping for a master that was less of a clot pole, but I guess I have to do with you for now."

"Thank you Merlin, now, if you are done interrupting me, I have a plan."

"Shoot."

"Remember Tom, my driver?" He waited for Merlin to nod, "He has a daughter, Guinevere."

"The pretty girl with dark hair that was talking to him in the morning?" Merlin asked. Arthur looked at him in surprise.

"How did you know? You were in the briefcase at that time."

"Warlock! Capable of being invisible! Remember? " Merlin said exaggeratedly.

"That's terrifying. You could spy on me taking a shower and I would never know."

"That would imply I would be interested in seeing you naked. Which, I am sorry to say, I am really not."

"Your loss." Arthur said, a little put out by the declaration. It wasn't like he wanted Merlin to want to see him naked. It was just a matter of ego: Arthur was gorgeous to look at, and every living being should want to.

"If you are done having a self esteem crisis, can we go back to what you were saying about your driver's daughter?"

"Yes." Arthur pulled himself back from useless thoughts and continued, "Gwen, she is brilliant. One of the brightest students in the country probably."

"You could _try_ to hide the heart eyes Arthur." Merlin teased.

"Shut up. It's not like that."

"Okay. If you say so." Merlin said in a tone which made it obvious that he completely did not believe Arthur.

"Can you stop distracting me? What was I saying again?"

"You were talking about how amazing Guinevere is."

"Right. So she is a very sharp girl, always scores the top of her class. Don't look at me like that, she is Morgana's friend and Morgana never forgets to inform me every time she gets insanely high marks. It's like she is taunting me that Gwen is better than me or something, which I don't doubt. I was good in studies, but never exceptional."

"For her, he even comes down from his high throne." Merlin sighed.

"You are hopeless you know," Arthur commented, and then continued."The thing is, she is going to be applying for universities this year. And here comes the problem, they are not very well off. When Gwen's mother got sick, they kind of got crushed under the burden of her medical bills and are still recovering years after her death. Tom works for me and I have offered many times to pay for Gwen's tuition in university, but he is a man of firm principals and honor. He wouldn't take charity."

"Oh."

"Exactly. You probably know that most of the best universities are insanely expensive, and even if Gwen qualifies for them, which I am sure she will, not many of them have any good scholarship programs she can afford. Which is just unfair."

Arthur looked at Merlin, wondering if he understood what he was getting at, and was met with a look that was a mix of admiration and amusement.

"What is it?"

"You do have a heart, no matter how much you pretend you don't." Merlin smiled.

"Shut up Merlin. Now, do you understand what I want you to do?"

"You want me to make it so that she receives the best scholarship programs from every university she applies in."

"No. Not exactly. I want it to be so that she receives the best scholarship programs from every university she qualifies for. I don't want to be unfair, but it's ridiculous that brilliant minds don't get the education they deserve just because of money. I want her to be able to afford and fully enjoy whatever program she chooses. I want there to be scholarships even in universities that have never offered one, for her, if she makes it through their qualifying tests. I don't care if you use my money to fund it... just she should get the education she deserves and wants without money constraints"

"Okay. I understand. That's... an unexpected wish. I have never done anything like this before. It's very imprecise and complicated weaving of time."

"But, you can do it right?" Arthur asked hopefully. "I know it's a weird wish and I don't even know if I made sense, but yeah. Can you?"

"Yes Arthur. I can do it."

"And would you? Do it I mean. You won't say no again?"

"I will do it Arthur. This is definitely a spell worth casting after years of waiting." Merlin smiled, and then added cryptically, "I thought you were just a spoiled rich brat. But there is just something about you Arthur. Something that gives me hope for the world."

With that, Merlin drew himself to his full height, and closed his eyes, muttering a string of words Arthur couldn't understand. Suddenly, he opened his eyes . Arthur gasped and stood up, mesmerized.

His eyes had changed colors. They weren't the brilliant blue like before, but were suffused with golden light, which seemed to be glowing. That's when Arthur noticed that the golden bracelets on Merlin's wrists were also glowing, and there were markings on it, very similar to the markings on the lamp, and they were shining much brighter than the rest of it. For the first time since Arthur met Merlin, he was realizing how much power he really had; the very air around Merlin seemed charged with it. It should've terrified him, but somehow, instinctively, Arthur knew that Merlin never had and never would use his powers for wrong, if he could help it. Without any rhyme or reason, Arthur trusted Merlin... implicitly.

Instead, all he felt was awe.

Merlin's eyes stayed golden for a few minutes, and he kept muttering phrase after phrase. His eyes were unfocused, but he seemed to be looking at something. Arthur suspected he was looking into the future of Gwen's timeline and felt a shiver of admiration and awe go through him at the thought. Merlin slowly stretched one of his hands forward, palm up, fingers slightly bent. Beautiful strands of green light gathered around his hand, curling around his fingers. He then closed his fingers into a tight fist, and released it again after a few moments, slowly, dispersing the green light around it until it gradually vanished away into the air. Merlin closed his eyes again, and this time when he opened them, they were their normal blue.

He looked at Arthur and smiled. "It's done."

"Really?"

"Yes really. A little faith would be nice. You might get some applications to fund a scholarship or two sometime in the future, if she applies for universities that don't have one already. Just sign them."

"That was... amazing."

"Yeah?" Merlin asked, suddenly shy.

"Yes. I have never seen anything like this before." Merlin's face and ears got greener, and he looked away from the intensity in Arthur's eyes.

"Thank you Merlin." Arthur poured his gratitude into the three words.

"Just doing my job." Merlin hedged.

"Still... Thank you." Arthur felt a completely unexpected urge to hug the idiot in front of him, but hugging a genie with smoke for legs would be just... weird. So he resisted the urge, and instead just clapped Merlin on his shoulder.

Later that night, Arthur lay down in his bed after stripping and changing into an old t-shirt, worn-out due to overuse and hence incredibly comfortable, and a pair of boxers. He had left strict instructions to Merlin to not come into his room uninvited, and taught him that knocking was a thing. Minutes passed, and he couldn't blank his mind enough to fall asleep. The events of the day kept repeating in an endless loop in his brain and he wondered how all of his beliefs had turned on their heads in less than 36 hours.

He would start getting a headache this way.

"Merlin, you there?" He called out after an hour of trying and failing to fall asleep.

"Where else would I be?" Came the reply.

"I have thought of a second wish."

"It better not be for me to shut up, because you probably should realize that you were the one who started the conversation this time-not me."

"No, it's not for you to shut up."

"Okay then. What is it?"

"I want you to make me fall asleep."

"That's it? I don't need magic for that." Merlin's voice declared.

A moment later, Geoffrey Monmouth voice started coming through the living room outside, reading,

 _"Er - hello," said Harry nervously._

 _"Harry Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir... Such an honor it is..."_

 _"Th-thank you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, "What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, "Who are you?"_

 _"Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature._

 _"Oh - really?" said Harry. "Er - I don't want to be rude or anything, but - this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom."_

 _Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head._

Arthur couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped his mouth,

"What are you even reading?"

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Found it on your book shelf. I read the first book the last time I was allowed to leave the lamp, and loved it. Librarian master remember? Too bad I wasn't around till the rest of the books came out. I had been wondering about them. Now shut up and concentrate on the voice. This is what I always imagined Professor Binns to sound like."

And after that, Merlin continued reading out loud about dobby warning Harry Potter to not go to Hogwarts that year, in a completely monotonous tone. The warlock was usually so expressive with everything he said that Arthur had a hard time imagining him speaking like this, and every time the image crept into his mind it made him smile- and sometimes, mortifyingly, giggle!

Arthur would never be able to figure out or remember exactly when his eyes closed and he drifted into a peaceful sleep, with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as his background music. One thing he would remember though, and that was this: he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

 _A/N: I really hope this chapter feels okay to read. When I wrote it, it seemed okay. But now that I was editing it and rereading it, Arthur's wish was too complicated and weird. But I guess if anyone can do it, Genie of the lamp can! So go with it. If you liked reading this... please please leave reviews? It makes me so very happy to get email notifications of reviews... You have no idea!_


	7. Chapter 7

A sharp knock on his door woke him up in the morning. He thought he might have imagined it, but it was repeated a few minutes later. Grumbling, Arthur shuffled in his bed and called out,

"Merlin. Because of you I am on forced leave. I would really appreciate it if you at least let me enjoy the rare chance of sleeping in. Go away."

"Arthur." Uther's voice called out from outside, making Arthur sit bolt upright in his bed.

"Father?" Arthur asked incredulously, while pushing the covers aside and getting up.

"Have you seen the time? Do respectable young men sleep till this late these days?" Uther's tone was dripping with disapproval.

Arthur rushed into the bathroom, hastily brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face, and then opened his closet and wore the first t-shirt and jeans he could find. There was a knock on his door again, followed by an angry call of "Arthur". Hastily, he unlocked the door and jerked it open, apology on the tip of his tongue.

And stopped in his tracks.

There was no sign of Uther. Instead Merlin hovered, with his hand poised to knock on the door, eyes wide when he saw the look on Arthur's face, blinking innocently.

"So you are finally awake. About time." He spoke in Uther's voice unapologetically, and when Arthur just stared, his face crumpled into one of pure mirth, and he bent his head forward, messy hair covering his face and started laughing.

"Oh my God, the look on your face when you opened the door." He said, while gasping for breath. With effort he looked up at Arthur, blue eyes full of tears of hilarity, and quickly looked away, wheezing.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Arthur still could not believe he had been tricked so badly.

"Waking you up apparently. I was bored. But honestly, the panic on your face when you thought your father was outside... It's the funniest thing I had ever seen." His breathless guffaws had calmed down a bit but he still chuckled every now and then, especially every time when he glanced up at Arthur's face.

Arthur waited for righteous fury to come, but to his frustration he only managed to feel a little bit embarrassed, and a lot fond of the absolutely childish centuries old warlock in front of him. He just smacked Merlin on his head, which made him make a pouty face and rub his head, while looking at Arthur accusingly.

"That was not what I meant by knocking."

Merlin stuck out his tongue at him at that- _so mature_!

"Also, please, for the love of all that's important to you... Never imitate my father again."

"Why? I thought I made a pretty great Uther."

"And that's a sentence I never thought I would ever hear, and would've liked to keep it that way." Arthur shuddered, "anyways, what was so important that you had to wake me up for it?"

"Nothing. I was just bored."

"You were... Of course. He was bored. That's why he woke me up the one time I actually could sleep in. Of course."

"Who are you talking to Arthur? There is only me here."

"Whatever." Arthur shook his head, and went to the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. He was awake already, so it was about time to get ready for the day.

Merlin hovered behind him, a ball of endless energy. Arthur put two bread slices in the toaster and turned on the stove to make himself some scrambled eggs. Behind him, Merlin let out a startled gasp.

"What?" Arthur asked irritably.

"You can cook?"

"Yes Merlin. It is basic survival skill. Why won't I be able to?"

"I don't know. You just seem like the sort that would make other people prepare meals for you. I guessed you would be very particular too, complaining if someone put one microgram salt extra in your food and stuff."

"What lesson does that teach you then?"

"That even entitled spoiled prats can cook in the 21st centuries?"

"No, that's not it."

"Is it something insulting about my intellect?"

"You bet it is."

"I am sorry Arthur. Apparently I should know better than to make assumptions, or even think at all for that matter." Merlin said in a monotone, kind of like when a teacher makes a student repeat after her that I _promise I will not steal my class fellow's pencil again._

"See, you _can_ learn."

"And you can cook." Merlin still sounded amazed, "I bet what you make is practically inedible."

"It would still be better than whatever poison you must concoct when allowed near a stove." Arthur retorted.

"I... I have no idea."

"You can't cook?"

"Don't know. If I ever did, I don't remember it anymore."

After that they were quiet for some time, and Arthur worked in the kitchen, quickly making him some breakfast and putting it on the counter. He then sat down on the stool and looked properly at Merlin.

"You sure you don't eat?"

"Yep. Imagine it yourself: if I ate something, where do you think it would come out from?"

"Ew. I am eating Merlin. And that's an image I don't want in my head. Ever. Argh."

"You did ask for it." Merlin, the bastard, did not look slightest bit ashamed. "Any way, I have to say it's very sweet of you to keep asking. Very few of my previous masters ever thought about it."

"Hmm, about that- I have been meaning to ask you. How were your previous masters?"

"Oh you know. Some were okay. Most were absolutely dull, and asked for the same usual things. Money, power, more money, and girls. It was always the girls. The witch never sold me to a woman in all these centuries... I have no idea why that's so. I think I would've liked a female master."

"Kinky." Arthur commented.

"Oh stuff it. Anyway, as I said, most of the time I barely had time to even know the person before they asked for three things and were done."

"You mean to say you never annoyed the hell out of them by refusing them things?"

"Oh sometimes I did. Especially when they asked me for unmentionable evils. I don't do murder or love spells. But I did one better. Magic is all about wordings, and these men weren't exactly bright. Let's just say they regretted giving me orders of violence."

"I guess I should be glad you didn't _fix_ my teeth. Maybe you would've decided fixing them means removing them from my person all together."

"Now there's an idea." Merlin said, a grin suddenly splitting his face.

"Okay so what about the some that weren't okay?"

"That's it. Some were not okay."

"Come on Merlin... Don't you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Those weren't good times. I was not kidding about being burned in fire, and locked in chests for decades. Some were kind too though. One time, I have no idea what got into the witch and I ended up in the middle of an absolute clusterfuck."

"Oh that sounds interesting."

"It really wasn't. Trust me. For once, a really poor street urchin-from freaking _Arab_ of all places- owned me, and he was seriously messed up in his head, didn't believe in working towards anything. It's a good thing he got me; otherwise he would've ended up dead in the corner of the street before he turned 25. He made me make him a prince to court a princess he fancied, went all elaborate with the castle and the money. She got married, but he had me transport her to his palace every night after her wedding and then made her forget all about it. It was fucked up. But then the princess willingly sold me to another mage, who also had the hots for her, and then it was basically just the battle of who has the bigger dick. I swear, they were both dicks. They didn't need to compare it at all. I have never been able to obey anyone the witch herself had not sold me to personally, so it was very confusing, going back and forth between two absolutely self absorbed bastards."

While Merlin was rambling, Arthur's eyes grew wider and wider, his half eaten breakfast lay forgotten. He didn't realize he had stopped breathing until he gasped, and then promptly started choking. Merlin flew towards him, and put a hand on his back rubbing it up and down, and asked concernedly,

"Arthur! Arthur you alright?"

In between the coughing and the choking, Arthur had started chortling as well, and when Merlin realized that he backed away from him, offended.

"I tell you my whole life's sob story and you laugh at me. Well done proving what an arse you are Sire." Merlin pouted.

"Sorry," Arthur said in between his bursts of laughter. "Sorry! I am not laughing at you." Another chuckle escaped him," Or maybe I am. I can't explain this. You need to see it for yourself. Wait right here, I will be right back." Arthur said, and he left his unfinished breakfast on the counter, and grabbed his apartment elevator key, moving towards the door.

At the door he stopped once again and looked at Merlin, saying, "Don't go anywhere."

"Where do you think I can go?" Merlin rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. Didn't you say you were one of the most powerful sorcerers of all time? Doesn't hurt to be careful." Arthur quipped happily, and turned around. The last he saw of Merlin was him playing with his bracelets again, with a rueful smile.

* * *

 _Oh I come from a land_

 _From a faraway place_

 _Where the caravan camels roam_

 _Where they cut off your ear /where it's flat and immense_

 _If they don't like your face /and the heat is intense_

 _It's barbaric, but hey-it's home!_

 _When the wind's at your back_

 _And the sun's from the west_

 _And the sand in the glass is right_

 _Come on down,_

 _Stop on by_

 _Hop a carpet and fly_

 _To another Arabian night!_

 _Arabian nights_

 _Like Arabian days_

 _More often than not_

 _Are hotter than hot_

 _In a lot of good ways_

 _Arabian nights_

 _'Neath Arabian moons_

 _A fool off his guard_

 _Could fall and fall hard_

 _Out there on the dunes._

Arthur couldn't help staring at Merlin's face. It was too damn expressive. How was he ever able to hide emotions, or lie? Because the way Arthur saw it, Merlin would probably be as bad at lying as he is at obeying. Everything about him: the twitching of his lips, the widening of his eyes, the little adorable frowns and the wrinkling of nose, even his ears, and the way they sometimes got darker in color or folded in, gave away what he was thinking.

Right now, Arthur was sure Merlin was torn between feeling outraged, embarrassed and reluctantly amused. Every now and then when something ridiculous happened, Merlin would snap his head towards Arthur and gape, his mouth opening and closing, as if he couldn't decide what words to choose to describe how betrayed he was feeling.

After leaving Merlin, Arthur had gone to the nearest shop that sold DVDs, and bought the 1992 movie Aladdin, and rushed back as soon as possible. He had been unable to contain his excitement about making Merlin watch the movie.

The warlock had been very skeptical about it, especially because Arthur didn't even tell him the name of the movie or what it was about, but had humored Arthur, and settled down on the sofa - "I don't need to sit Arthur!" "Do as you're told Merlin. For once."- While Arthur made instant popcorns in the microwave. This deserved to be watched properly- Arthur had claimed.

And it so was. The look of horror on Merlin's face when the Genie first came out of the lamp with all the fanfare and the " _Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck"_ , with his mouth open, unblinking eyes and the way he looked at Arthur like he was wondering if he was having a nightmare, were awesome. Arthur had to pause the movie and laugh, and laugh and laugh some more, until Merlin threw a cushion at him, still speechless. Arthur remembered seeing this movie when he was a child but this time, he wasn't seeing the movie. He was seeing Merlin see the movie, and it was a hundred times more fun.

When the last scene ended, and the credits started playing, Arthur turned off the TV, and leaned back on the couch, waiting for Merlin's reaction. Merlin sat frozen for a few minutes, not even blinking, and then suddenly right in front of Arthur's eyes, he became smoke and went into the magical lamp.

"Come on Merlin, don't be like that." Arthur complained, and received no answer, so he bent forward and started stroking the lamp lying on the table in front of him.

"Come now, that wasn't so bad was it."

"Not bad. NOT BAD?" Merlin's voice came from inside the lamp, all squeaky, and then just Merlin's head came out of the lamp, startling Arthur and making him back away from the table as far as the couch would allow, "They made me blue."

"Okay one, don't do that! Either go completely inside the lamp, or come all out. This is freaking me out. Second, blue? That's what you take offense on?"

Merlin just increased his head size and didn't come out of the lamp or hide inside, like Arthur had requested, which was not surprising at all. It would've been surprising if Merlin had actually listened. "Why? Don't you like it? That's what the lamp Genie always did? Be ridiculous and creepy, and BLUE."

"Seriously. What's with the color? Blue is as good as green. Why does it matter?" Arthur's curiosity was piqued.

Finally, Merlin came out of the lamp, normal sized, slumping in the sofa, a lot like Arthur was, and folded both of his arms across his chest , looking straight ahead, sulking.

"Green is me. It's the color of my magic. It's the color of nature, of growth and spring. Of rebirth and renewal. It's the color of life. I have always been green, felt green, ever since I can remember. Blue is just... blue." Merlin pouted through his entire rambling.

"Awe. You sensitive little green Genie." Arthur teased, which resulted in Merlin throwing him a sharp annoyed look. "I do get why they would use blue though. It's your eyes. They are hard to forget. If I were to choose a color other than green for you, it would be blue too." Arthur promptly regretted them as soon as the words left his mouth, but thankfully Merlin was busy having an existential crisis.

"I understand why they changed so much of what really happened. It was too messed up to be made into a fairy tale, and history is written from the winner's side, whatever. But why did they give me that weird beard, and the face? Why name me Genie? I don't understand. Ali knew me, so if he had to tell them my story, why make me so - so... unrecognizable." He sounded seriously confused.

"Unrecognizable is not the word I would use. I recognized you, didn't I?"

"That's because you are a Prat, and love making fun of me."

"True," Arthur shrugged, "So, Aladdin is real."

"Well Ali is. Except that he was an absolute bastard obsessed with marrying the Princess Yasmin, and with short cuts. He was nice to me though, so was Yasmin." Merlin sounded fond when he talked about them, and for a ridiculous moment, Arthur felt extremely jealous.

Tamping it down, Arthur commented, "You call him a bastard one moment, and nice the second. One would think you are confused."

"Well! What can I say? I have a weakness for bastards." He looked at Arthur as if making a point, and then continued, "Also he was a whole lot better than Jafar." Merlin shuddered, "I have had worse than Jafar, but he sticks around in my head as one of most twisted. Especially because he was also a mage, and was bound to understand what I felt like with my caged magic. It did not stop him from completely exploiting me, and leaving no wriggle room with his very specific phrasing. I hate it when they understand magic."

"Oh Jafar! I noticed that."

"Don't even start." Merlin warned.

"That was some pissing contest going on. Ali wasn't the only one comparing dicks with Jafar, was he?"

Merlin flushed and murmured a quiet "Shut up."

"Also, that was quite a crush you were harboring for Aladdin in the movie. Was that, winner-side-writes-the-history and all that thing too, or what?" Arthur teased.

"You are awful, you know that? Ali was just a friend. I have had very few of those in the years." Merlin responded, but the flush on his cheeks gave him away. Arthur could accept it was pretty unreasonable to be jealous of someone who had died a very long time ago by now, so he ignored the feeling and instead enjoyed the pleasure of making Merlin feel awkward.

After a few seconds, Merlin perked up and looked at Arthur with pure evil in his eyes though, "Speaking of, you want to tell me something?"

"Tell you what?"

"About Yasmin and your obsession with Guinevere. The resemblance is uncanny and I have seen the signs before. "

"I told you Merlin. I don't think about Gwen that way."

"Yeah. And Ali didn't think about Yasmin that way."

"Jesus Christ. You are like a stuck record. She is the wrong gender! Does that satisfy you?"

"Oh!"

"Yeah! Oh! If anything, _Genie_ was my favorite character when I first saw the movie. Though, I have to say I like the real thing more. Less loud and obnoxious, same level of insolence and wit."

"Oh?" Merlin face and ears were a very dark shade of green now, and he looked at Arthur with his wide blue eyes, and for a few seconds Arthur's breath caught in his throat.

"Yes! Now stopped being an idiot alright?" Arthur ruffled Merlin's hair, causing him to squawk indignantly, and then left his hand across Merlin's shoulder, not quite hugging him, but feeling closer than he ever had before anyway.

"You realize one thing right?" Arthur asked after a while. Merlin had been staring into a distance all that time, still going over every scene of the movie Arthur supposed. This trauma would take a while to be properly processed.

"Hmm?" He answered distractedly.

"You totally can't complain when I call you Genie from now on. Because you are _THE_ Genie. You can't say you aren't." Arthur replied in smug satisfaction.

"Well as long as you let me call you an Arse. Because you are one." Merlin smirked.

Arthur couldn't help throwing his head back and laughing. Yes, he did like the real thing more. A whole lot more.

* * *

 _A/N:All of you who leave kind reviews, please know you are very very loved. You make my day so much better and you should know that._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Here is a very quick update because I ended up writing a lot yesterday. YAY. Many many thanks to every single person who leaves a nice review. You make my day!_

* * *

Morgana called the next day.

Arthur picked up the call, and waited for her to speak. From the other end, all he could hear were strangled breaths and what sounded suspiciously like a sob.

"Morgana?" Arthur's alarm was practically palpable in his voice.

When she did not reply, he stood up from where he was sitting on his desk and trying to micromanage the office work from home- he was a workaholic and didn't know how to take a holiday, sue him. Merlin looked up from where he was reading Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban now, eyebrows raised.

"Where are you? I am coming over." He asked firmly, and started moving towards his bedroom to wear something a little more suited for going outside.

"No." That at least, got him a response. It didn't do anything to disperse his worry though.

"What do you mean no? Are you crying Morgs? What's wrong?" Arthur implored.

"Just please. Arthur..." Her voice quivered on his name, making a shiver run up Arthur's spine. "Please don't leave house today."

"Okay. Okay... If it makes you feel better, I am going to stay put." It felt like her sister might have a panic attack if he didn't agree and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her more. "Just please tell me what's wrong Morgs. You are scaring me." A hand gently gripped his shoulder and squeezed, instilling some calm in him. He gave Merlin a grateful look, worry still clawing at his heart.

"There was so much blood," A sob, and then she continued, "So much darkness, and pain. Red painted the ground and the skies. Everything bled Arthur. Everything."

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey..." Sitting down on a sofa, with Merlin sitting next to him after a moment, he tried to calm her down, but now that she had started, it seemed like she couldn't stop.

"I saw you die Arthur. I kept calling your name, _Arthur, Arthur wake up_! I screamed, but you didn't move. I tried to shake you awake and my hands came away red. You died and there was nothing I could do. I- I can't- Arthur I-" She whimpered, falling apart as she spoke on, and God help him, Arthur could not bear to hear her sister sound so miserable. He ached to hug her, but he feared that another suggestion of Arthur coming over would rattle her even more.

"Morgana! Love! Can you hear me?" Gripping his phone tightly in one hand and balling the other in a fist, he spoke firmly.

"Yes." Came a weak and wet answer, followed by fast and ragged breathing.

"I want you to breathe with me. Listen to me, and do as I say. Now, in, count to ten, and out. In, count to ten, and out." Arthur went on like this for a minute, until it stopped looking like Morgana would hyperventilate.

"Better?"

There was rustling on the other end that Arthur assumed was a nod, so he continued, "As for your dream, it was a dream wasn't it? I won't insult you again by saying it was just a nightmare, because they apparently are more than that to you," at his side he knew Merlin was giving him a proud wide smile, despite the situation. He ignored it. "All I will say is. You are talking to me. You called me and I answered, like I always have, and I always will."

Morgana didn't reply to that, but there were no more sobs coming from the other end, so Arthur would call that a win.

"I am alive. I am fine. You don't have to worry, because I plan on continuing to be a pain in your ass for a really long time. You aren't going to get rid of me that easy." He felt relief wash over him when he heard a wet chuckle on his bad joke.

"I am sorry." She said sheepishly after a while, and Arthur knew she would be even more mortified a few hours later.

"Don't be. This just goes on to show how much you love me. I have to say, I am very flattered." Arthur teased.

"Very funny." She sounded more and more like herself with every word, but there was something else she was hiding. Something that was bothering her, Arthur was sure.

"So now that we have confirmed that your awesome brother is hale and hearty, tell me what else is wrong." Arthur prodded.

"What do you mean?" Morgana hesitated.

"Come on Morgs. I know you. Something is wrong. What is it?"

"You will just call me paranoid and crazy if I tell you."

"I won't. " He promised.

"Uh- When I woke up after the-um- nightmare- I woke up screaming and- if you laugh at me I will cut your tongue out, I swear- I saw, or more like, I _felt_ , the light in my room fuse at that exact moment."

"That tube light was old, and it's probably just a bad coincidence." Arthur hedged, but he could see Merlin's eyes widening, and he wondered if there was more to it after all. He also wondered how Merlin was able to hear what was being said on the other end of the line, but then he glanced at Merlin's ears and wanted to smile despite the horrible situation he was in. They were literally like antennas. How had he never noticed them before?

"You don't understand. I felt myself do it. Like something deep inside me reached out and snuffed it. Like a hand, but not really. I think I am going crazy Arthur. Something is very wrong with me." She sounded very freaked out now, so Arthur responded before he could help himself.

"It's alright. I believe you."

"You do?"

Caught out, he quickly tried to make up a lie, "Yes. Yes I do. Nowadays they are doing all kinds of research about such stuff. Brain waves arranging crystals in a particular way and what not. It's called Noetic science I think. I will try to find out more about it for you, okay? Don't worry."

"Okay... "She said in a very unsure voice.

"There is _nothing_ wrong with you." Arthur couldn't stand the notion of her sister believing she was somehow damaged. "Whatever it is, we will fix it. As soon as you let me out of this house arrest."

"Don't..." She started out in alarm.

"Don't leave house. Yes, yes, I heard you the first time."

"Thank you." She said, gratitude infused in her statement.

"Any time sweet heart." Arthur smiled, and then disconnected the call after saying good bye and listening to another ' _just take care Arthur, please'_ , from his sister.

At loss about what to do, he just slumped back where he was sitting, and rubbed his hands across his face, and then ran them through his hair. Life had been so simple and straight forward before he had went ahead and bought that fucking lamp. Was it really just a couple of days ago? It felt like a lifetime had passed.

"So, she really does have magic." Arthur stated, talking to nobody in particular.

"Yes. I told you. She really does." Merlin could never shut up on best of times, and of course he thought the question was for him.

Arthur titled his head slightly towards the warlock, saying, "It still could be just a coincidence."

"It could be."

"But it's not. Is it?"

"No. No it's not."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know what magic feels like. It feels like an extra limb. A part of you that you can move and it responds just like any other muscle. I also know how it thrashes around when you are distressed, and that's what happened with her. She doesn't even know it's there, and has no idea how to control it, so of course it responded violently when she was scared."

"Well. Fuck me." Arthur sighed.

"I have no objection to that." The cheeky bastard, who had no idea about how to behave in situations that called for seriousness, joked. Arthur glared at him, which made him laugh.

"You said she can't control her magic?" Arthur asked after a minute or two.

"Like I said, it's like any other muscle. If you don't ever let someone walk, their muscles would never build up, never get trained." Merlin explained.

"So she needs exercising, that's what you are saying?"

"She needs someone to teach her how to control her magic, yes. And practice, she needs loads of practice."

"That's what I just said, didn't I?"

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did. You don't always have to be contrary." Arthur complained.

"Arrogant Prat. Everything always have to be about you doesn't it? This isn't. Morgana needs help alright? Last time I was here, I remember there were some practitioners and followers of old religion around. Descendants of druids of my time. They might still be here, or someone like them. They can help her. And I can help you look for them."

"Can you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Teach her."

"Maybe," he hedged, "But I am no teacher. Never been. The druids can do it better. There is also the fact that I can't actually _do_ magic. I am telling you, I am not the right man for it."

"Morgana is my sister Merlin. She is important. "

"I know that... that's why I am telling you these people-"

"I don't trust them." Arthur said, sudden and firm causing Merlin to snap his mouth shut."I trust you."

There was an awkward silence after his declaration, and Arthur looked away because the sudden softness in Merlin's eyes was too much for him to bear.

"Alright." Merlin said quietly after a while.

"Alright?"

"Alright you big softie. I will do it." There was a smile on Merlin's lips as he said that, and Arthur could tell that even without looking at him. "I will teach her, for whatever good it's worth."

"Thank you." He said gratefully.

"I am your slave remember? Bought and paid for." Merlin quipped, and Arthur couldn't help slapping him on his head at that comment. He just rubbed his head at that, and laughed.

"You know what that means right?" Arthur suddenly had a very evil plan in his head, and if the way Merlin had started looking like a deer in headlights was anything to go by, he knew it was going to be bad.

"No?" He asked suspiciously.

"I have to pass the entire day, stuck in the house. There is only one thing to do..." Arthur grinned, pure mischief. "We are going to marathon every single adaptation of Aladdin ever made. Including the cartoons."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Merlin's dialogues are written in italics for some part of the story. You would understand why._

* * *

There were voices in his room. Voices that did not belong.

"Are you sure you put enough in Val? He looks like he is waking up?" Someone was saying in a distance. Except no. The voice was coming from near his bed... then why did it sound so far away?

Arthur had a feeling something was very wrong. There shouldn't be people in his room, should they? He knew he should feel very very alarmed, but he was so sleepy!

He tried to pry apart his eyelids, to look at whoever was speaking now. It was barely a whisper and it sounded angry, something about being quiet, _and don't use names moron_ , and something about the tone made a shiver run up Arthur's spine. He needed to get away from this guy, he knew instinctively, but not even his eyelids would obey his command and open.

It was pitch black, and there were voices in his room.

From somewhere even further away, another voice trickled into Arthur's subconscious as well. This one was calling his name, over and over again, pleadingly. It was a part of his imagination, he was sure, or was it? His brain was too scrambled to dwell on it.

"Let's get this over with. Hurry up, before he really wakes up." The first voice said, in a nasal tone. It almost felt like he was whining. Then Arthur felt someone touch his arm. That made his eyes snap open. Voices in his room were one thing; someone touching him without his permission was very different.

"Oh! Look at that. Pretty boy woke up." The first voice sing songed. Arthur tried to look at him and figure out who it was, but he had a black balaclava on his head, showing only his eyes. The eyes made Arthur wish he had never looked at him. They were cold, and merciless.

He tried to open his mouth to scream, but a hand clapped on his mouth, and a second hooded face loomed in his sight, shaking his head.

"I won't do it if I were you." The man threatened, and then waved a short, silver knife in front of his face.

"Wha-?" Arthur tried to say, quietly this time, when the man removed his hand. His assailant's grim and sure eyes said that he won't hesitate in following through with his unvoiced threats.

"What do we want?" The guy asked, and even through the mask, Arthur could hear the menacing smile in his voice. "How accommodating of you. We just want to kidnap you, boss's orders. Were hoping you won't even notice, drugged your food and all, but I guess our meeting was fate. So, it would be best if you co-operate."

Arthur had ordered room service for dinner, but hadn't been very hungry, considering he had not moved all day other than from couch to washroom and back, so he had barely touched his food. Turns out, it was a blessing. As he felt the first guy pulling on his arm again, he reconsidered: maybe it wasn't a blessing; maybe sleeping through all this would've been much better.

 _"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! Arthur, Arthur you asshole look at me."_ The imaginary voice in his head-one that sounded extremely familiar- was still saying, the alarm was very obvious in it this time. Arthur tried to move his head, because even through the haze clouding his brain he remembered he did not like this voice being alarmed, he cared for this voice-real or not- but his body felt very heavy, and there were two bodies blocking his view.

The one who was pulling his arm, snuck a hand under his shoulder, helping him sit upright like an imbecile. If he had more energy, he would've felt embarrassed. As it was, he was helplessly moved, with a growing feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Sitting up, at least, gave him more idea of what had happened. One of the panes of glass walls of his room was cut- not smashed, cut, like someone had used proper cutting tools and made a hole in it- big enough to let a man-or two- inside.

It also made him aware of a green figure, hovering right in front of his bed. He looked remarkably relieved the moment Arthur met his eyes.

 _"Thank God. Arthur. Can you hear me? I am so sorry I didn't notice them before but I need you to listen to me now. Please."_

Arthur stared at him blankly, his plea registering in his brain, but not processing.

The two men supported him to stand upright, and then tried to move him. He was gaining more and more control of his limbs by the moment, and now he was sure he could stand by himself. His brain though, was as slow as before. It did tell him that he needed to break free, so he started struggling the moment his muscles started co-operating.

His captors were two to his one, and they were not metabolizing an unknown drug in their system at the moment, so his struggles were futile.

"Don't even try pet. You will only make this difficult for you." One of the masked men said. The nickname made Arthur furious, and he started struggling even more.

 _"Damn it Arthur. I can't do anything until you tell me to. I can't hurt them, can't even touch or_ scare _them until you allow me to. Tell me Arthur. Order me to kill them. JUST NOD."_ Merlin, that was the green Genie's name, Arthur remembered, shouted at him, panicked. Arthur felt the ground shake, and blamed it on the drugs.

Arthur managed to free himself from one of the guys holding him, and he swung his hand with as much force as he could, punching him in his face.

"Fuck. You little piece of shit." The guy swore and stumbled back, rubbing his jaw. The other one roughly turned him around and plastered himself against Arthur's back, one hand grasping his arm, the other placing a knife against his throat.

"If you move again, I will kill you." A voice warned at his back, the warm breath against his ear turning his stomach, disgusting him.

 _"Tell me to kill them Arthur."_ Merlin moved in front of him, begging, but with malice in his eyes.

"No..." Arthur managed to say. He did not want Merlin to kill anyone. He was not that sort of an owner. And hadn't Merlin said he simply didn't do murder?

"No. You won't co-operate, or no I shouldn't kill you?" The man at his back sneered, and pressed the knife a little harder against his throat. Arthur felt it tear his skin, feeling a few drops of blood trickle down his neck.

At that moment, the floor shaking intensified, and the frames on the wall started rattling. The lamp on Arthur's side table fell down, but instead of looking at the fallen lamp in alarm like the man who Arthur had punched was doing, Arthur looked at Merlin.

His eyes were still blue, but there were sparks of a golden fire dancing in them, and there was hatred and wrath on his face the likes of which he had never seen before. Merlin had always looked a mixture of adorable, ridiculous, and - Arthur was man enough to admit- appealing. Right now he looked... Petrifying.

"Something is wrong Val. Hurry up; we should get out of here." The guy he had punched told Val, who was holding Arthur at the moment. He sounded scared, and he could not even see Merlin. Val, on the other hand, was either extremely foolish, or extremely brave. He just muttered a quick _shut up_ , and went back to holding Arthur tightly.

 _"They deserve to die Arthur. They spilled your blood now."_

Arthur shook his head violently, making the knife dig a little harder against his neck, increasing the size of the gash.

"Don't kill..." his tongue was heavy, his words sluggish.

"That's like a good boy." The man cooed, not knowing Arthur wasn't even talking to him.

Merlin was visibly trembling, and Arthur remembered him talking about magic thrashing about when its wielder was in distress. " _I can't let them take you. I have to do something. I will burst apart if I don't. My magic would consume me. Please?"_ He begged.

"Okay." Arthur told him and made his second wish, not because Arthur wanted him to, but because Merlin needed it. Merlin had asked, and Arthur had a feeling Merlin rarely ever asked something for himself.

 _"Okay what Arthur? You need to be specific. You told me not to kill, so what do you want me to do?"_

"Anything you want." Arthur told him, and Val huffed out a laugh behind him, thinking Arthur was begging them.

"Just don't..." _Kill them_ , Arthur didn't say. But he knew Merlin understood, because he gave him a sharp nod, composed his features and closed his eyes. Val was laughing and sneering behind him, saying "Look at that Cedric, the Pendragon boy is a coward. Begging us not to hurt him. Don't worry pet, this won't hurt at all."

Arthur ignored them, his eyes fixed on Merlin, who even with his eyes closed, looked majestic. He distantly registered the sudden quiet and stillness around him. The frames had stopped rattling, the ground stopped shaking, and Arthur's breath caught, not willing to break the hush. Even Val and Cedric, unknowingly, stopped breathing too. Calm before the storm- the phrase had never felt so accurate to Arthur before...

Merlin opened his eyes, molten gold, blazing like the sun, powerful, furious and unimaginably destructive. Arthur cowered in fear, even though he knew Merlin's wrath wasn't aimed at him.

And then he extended his right hand, fingers splayed open, palm outwards, and screamed. There was a burst of power so strong that Arthur instinctively crouched down, closing his eyes tightly and clasping both of his hands against his ears. He could hear the air inside his room become something resembling a wind storm, whipping around, scattering the papers lying across the room, tearing apart books and memos, upending the table and making the frames fall down. Arthur felt rather than saw sparks flying, and he could hear the lights in his room fusing making loud sizzling and popping noises.

Merlin kept screaming, and the air current kept getting stronger and stronger, until Arthur thought his ears would start bleeding and the sharp air would cut his skin. Then, all of a sudden, everything stopped. Merlin fell quiet, and his hand fell down, killing the wind storm it was causing along with it. There was a ringing silence, and that's when Arthur realized that his two kidnappers were nowhere to be found anymore.

Arthur looked around to see where they were, and when he didn't find them, he looked at Merlin questioningly. Merlin was not looking at him. He was not looking at anything in particular actually. He was sitting against a wall, and Arthur knew if he had knees, they would he folded with his arms around them. As it was, he had covered his face with both his hands, and looked miserable.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, his mind still a little foggy, but mostly recovered from whatever drugs were put in his meal.

"I am sorry." He said in a small, scared voice, and Arthur stood up from where he was still crouching on the ground.

"What for? You just saved my life. You don't have anything to be sorry about."

"I am sorry about losing control like that." He removed his hands from his face, and looked at Arthur. He looked afraid, but what of, Arthur had no idea.

"Please don't hate me." He whispered, and Arthur finally understood why Merlin was acting so strange.

"You idiot. Of course I don't hate you..." Arthur said, and started to move towards Merlin, wanting to cuff him on head, and hug him. Why would he ever think like that? Arthur was as capable of hating Merlin as Merlin was of hurting him... which is to say, not at all.

Instead, his body made him remember he was still recovering from sedating drugs, making him stumble. He would've fallen down, but Merlin suddenly flew over to him, gripping his arm to steady him.

He helped change Arthur's direction, and started moving him towards the bed instead, saying in a serious tone, "You need to rest Arthur."

And really, there was nothing Arthur could say to that. It was true. His bed was a disaster zone though, the pillow and bed linen strewn across the room. The mattress had survived somehow, but the wood frame had scratches on it, probably caused by the harsh wind. Arthur felt grateful for the moment that whatever the reason, the wind had not affected him like it had affected the wood. Merlin must have unconsciously directed his magic to spare him.

Merlin asked him where he kept bed linens, and then glanced at his neck and added first aid box to the list too. Then quietly but efficiently moved around the place while Arthur stood against the wall for support. Soon, his bed looked completely odd, arranged like a very normal and neat thing in a room full of chaos. Merlin helped Arthur settle down on his it, and then went and retrieved a first aid box.

"Not so incompetent after all huh?" Arthur joked, but it fell flat when Merlin didn't even smile.

Very gently, he cleaned the gash on Arthur's neck, decided that it did not need stitches and then applied clean bandage on it. It looked like Merlin had cleaned and dressed wounds before, many times, because he never hesitated when Arthur flinched, examined it with a trained eye, and his hands had moved surely and expertly. Arthur resolved to ask him about it later, when he did not feel like he would collapse any second, and just moved as Merlin asked.

In no time, Merlin was pressing on Arthur chest slightly, making him fall back and lie in bed. He draped a cover on him, and then, without saying a word, turned around to leave.

"Thank you Merlin." He said quietly, feeling guilty for some reason. Merlin shrugged without looking back at him.

"What happened to them?" Arthur asked, knowing he won't be able to sleep if he didn't know.

Merlin laughed mirthlessly, and then said coldly, "They aren't dead, if that's what you are asking. Though they will wish they were."

Arthur stiffened in alarm, and tried to sit up. "What did you _do_ Merlin?"

"You told me I could do anything. Anything except kill them. Don't you dare tell me off now." Merlin spun around, his eyes challenging Arthur.

"I am not telling you off Merlin." Arthur explained earnestly, too tired to argue. "I just don't want you to regret it later."

"Only thing I regret is not tearing them from limb to limb, and making an example out of them, for anyone who would dare hurt you again." Merlin said fiercely, and then without waiting for Arthur to reply, he turned around left the room. He didn't open the door, just walked through it, making Arthur remember once again how not-human he was.

Arthur sank back in the bed, and stared at the ceiling. He could not decide what he felt at the moment: terrified at how close he had gotten to being kidnapped, disgusted at how weak he had been, horrified at how terrifying and merciless Merlin was, or grateful and so very honored that Merlin felt Arthur was worth fighting for... Worth killing for.

He settled on feeling extreme gratitude for Merlin's loyalty. It was vastly undeserved. Arthur had done nothing remarkably good in all of his life, and nothing at all for Merlin, and yet, he had protected him. There was a warm and fuzzy feeling growing in his heart that he could not name, and thinking of Merlin made him smile, filling him with joy. He closed his eyes, holding tight to those feelings, and drifted back to sleep.

In the back of his mind, he remembered there was a hole in his room wall. He will fix it in the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, after establishing last night had not been just a fever dream- he seemed to have to do that kind of self analysis a lot these days- he established three more facts.

 _Fact No. 1- His would-be-kidnappers came from the apartment above his, and were probably hired by Cendred some rival company._

After he woke up, in an island of perfect organization in a sea of chaos, and gathered his wits about him, he proceeded to look out of the hole in his wall to figure out how somebody could climb up dozens of stories to reach his floor on plain foothold less glass. He should have known better.

There was a black rope dangling in front of the glass wall, which was connected to the window directly above his flat. It was definitely easier to climb down a rope for something like 3 meters, than climb up for 100 meter or so.

The next order of business was finding out who owned the apartment above. Few carefully placed calls revealed that the place was recently re-sold, at double the asking price, after its previous owner suddenly and mysteriously decided he did not want it any more. New proprietors had shifted there just a few days ago. The receptionist Arthur was sweet talking mentioned she was very confused when they did not bring any luggage, but thought maybe they were just getting settled first.

As to why he suspected it was Cendred... well let's just say it wasn't the first attempt made at Arthur's life, even if it was the closest call till date. Cendred was the owner of Esseter Incorporation, and he was-to put it mildly- extremely competitive. It was a pretty thriving and successful company on its own but it did not even come close to the fame and reliability of Pendragon products. Instead of realizing that it was because of the fact that his company compromised quality for more profit, and was least bothered by customer satisfaction, he always blamed Arthur for his own deficiencies and more than once he had publicly and privately threatened Arthur. He seemed to be of the belief that if Arthur left the business, or died, Pendragon Incorporation would not be able to bear the loss, and would crumble. Arthur had always kind of found the belief funny; Cendred apparently did not know his father.

Whether it was an almost fatal car accident, or a missed bullet, or carefully planned but fortunately foiled kidnapping attempt that Arthur faced in the last three years, it could always be vaguely traced back to Esseter and by that regards, Cendred. There was never enough evidence to charge him though, so Arthur had always just tightened his security and trusted fate.

Sure enough, contacting some of the people he knew, one of them a private investigator, in a few hours Arthur had all the confirmation he needed- but yet again, no proof- of Cendred's involvement. Valiant Isles and Cedric Sigan, the men who had bought the flat above him and the same men who had tried to abduct him yesterday, used to work in Esseter Incorporation some five years ago but had both resigned from that company for unknown reasons. Nobody could find out who they worked for at the moment, but Arthur was certain their employer's name started with C and ended with D.

 _Fact No. 2: There was jack shit he could do about the attack._

This one did not need any soul searching or research. His room looked like it had been the eye of a hurricane. His assailants had vanished from the scene of crime and maybe even from the whole earth- who knew, except probably Merlin, and he had not been forthcoming with the information last night- and there was no way Arthur could explain to police what exactly happened here yesterday.

Somehow the thought of Cendred getting away with this was not as troubling to Arthur as he had expected it to be, because through the first two facts, there was a third fact that was troubling him a lot more, dwarfing all the rest of his worries.

 _Fact No. 3: Merlin was in a sulk._

* * *

"Merlin. Please tell me last night was just a normal night and not something out of a badly written thriller novel."

Pretty much the first thing Arthur did after his head stopped spinning, even before opening his eyes, was call out for his own personal and reliable genie.

When there was no annoyingly sarcastic comment forthcoming, he groaned. Trust Merlin to shut up just when he needed him to speak up and make light of the situation. If he did not distract himself soon, he felt like he was embarrassingly close to bursting into tears... or hysterical laughter.

Opening his eyes did not help any. The utter chaos around him made his head spin and made everything more real than he was willing to deal with at the moment. He braced himself against overwhelming panic and set about to start feeling more like a human being, and stepped into the shower. Under the hot spray, he wondered what about the previous night was disturbing him the most. It wasn't the attempt on his life, he was positive of that. He had dealt with similar situations before, and not even when a bullet grazed his shoulder, barely missing his vital organs, was he so shaken.

So was it the sheer power Merlin had displayed? He shook his head so hard at the thought that the water splashed everywhere. No! Merlin's loss of control and his display of power had been... comforting. Arthur's every instinct told him that no matter how strong the warlock was, no matter how completely out of control, and no matter how much magic was under his command, Merlin would never harm him, intentionally or unintentionally. If the fact that everything in his room was destroyed but there was no scratch on Arthur wasn't proof enough of that, Arthur didn't know what else could be. It wasn't because he owned the lamp. Arthur was not foolish enough to believe that. More importantly, Arthur knew Merlin. Nobody could ever make him do stuff that he was completely averse to doing, no matter what spells bound him.

There was just something about the way Merlin looked at him. Arthur felt simultaneously exalted, and very heavily burdened by the amount of faith there was in those blue eyes. Faith and loyalty. He had barely known the warlock for a couple of days now, but it felt longer; it felt like lifetimes.

Arthur was not scared of Merlin. The idea was laughable, and the only reason it had crept up in his mind was because how scared Merlin had been himself of Arthur's reaction.

So what was he scared of? It didn't take him long to figure that out. It was the helplessness. The feeling where his limbs would not obey his command, his tongue was too heavy, and he was like a puppet with its strings cut. He dared not imagine what would have happened if Merlin had not been there...

But Merlin had been there. Nothing had happened. Arthur told himself to get a grip, and stepped out of the shower to investigate how exactly the events of last night had come to be.

He called after Merlin again, with a "Merlin I know I told you not to enter the room without permission, but come on... you need to see this," when he saw the rope dangling outside his window, and when there was no reply, he shrugged it off as Merlin being airheaded like usual.

It was when he stepped into his living room and found no sign of the green menace that had become a constant hovering presence in his life that he grew concerned.

Then he saw the lamp lying on the side table next to his couch, exactly where he had put it last night, and relaxed. Hadn't he read in some of the fantasy books as a child that doing powerful magic drained people? Maybe Merlin was just tired, which was expected after the ridiculously extreme exertion he had put himself through yesterday-for no good reason too. There were much more- and less dramatic- ways of dealing with the situation. The warlock's flare for drama did not surprise Arthur though, it was very _Merlin_.

He told Merlin that out loud, teasing him about being a weakling. He guessed Merlin wasn't really sleeping, as much as he was recuperating. The slight wobbling of the lamp at his remark made him grin.

As the day progressed, Arthur kept him updated to everything he was discovering. He was scared of ordering in lunch, so he made himself a quick snack himself, talking to thin air through the whole process. That was when he realized something that made him freeze.

He missed Merlin.

It had barely been half a week, and already, Merlin not replying back with his usual snark was a very unpleasant feeling. He would die before he told Merlin as much though, so he busied himself again with cooking.

By the end of the day, he had found out as much about his assailants as was possible, decided that involving police was probably a bad idea, and had contacted someone who would come fix his window the next day. He had also cleaned as much of his room as was possible, changing the light bulbs, arranging the furniture, and throwing away things that were beyond repair. He cursed Merlin out loud about the pains he was going through to fix what was Merlin's fault and the least he could do was help, but received no sign that his whining was even heard.

By the time the sun set, Arthur was exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached, his head felt like the vessels inside were throbbing, threatening to burst, and his heart felt like somebody was squeezing it in an iron grip. He was sick with worry... and loneliness.

He sat on the couch and stared at the lamp. The beginning of all his problems, and the solution to them all.

"Merlin, I understand you might not be well, but please just talk to me once. Please?" His voice was small, and he should have felt embarrassed by the neediness in it, except that if it made Merlin talk to him, it was worth it.

The lamp just lay on the table, like any normal inanimate object is wont to do, a million dollar in price or not. He would think that the last few days were barely a hallucination after all, if not for the fact that Merlin had changed his perspective of life so much already, that the idea of magic being unreal did not even cross his mind any more.

"I am tired Merlin. And I really need a friend right now. I am scared, and I want to talk to someone." He begged, and when there was still no response, he felt like smashing the lamp to the ground, except that the idea of hurting Merlin, in any way, was abhorrent.

He wanted to take the lamp in his hands, put it in his lap, and caress it like one would a cat. Run his fingers on all of the engravings, trace them with his fingers. He wanted to feel the warmth because he knew that after Merlin's voice, the heat of the lamp would probably be the second best thing that could actually calm his frazzled nerves.

But touching the lamp when Merlin was not talking to him, when Merlin was making it clear that any and all company was unwelcome, felt wrong. Not to mention that now that Arthur knew Merlin could physically feel someone touching the lamp, the idea of caressing the lamp felt...intimate. Not a repugnant idea... rather a very tempting one, but something that felt like a horrible breach of privacy if done without Merlin's consent. He would not be able to look Merlin in the eye after that, and he would rather not create any more awkwardness between them right now, when he didn't even know why Merlin was not bloody talking to him.

He collapsed back into his couch, head against the back rest, eyes closed, and sighed.

"I don't even know if you are listening, but thank you. For last night, and for everything else. I don't say it enough, don't appreciate people enough, but what you did for me yesterday... I would never forget it." He said to no one in particular.

And then he got up from the couch and started towards his bedroom. He needed sleep.

"Good night Merlin." He called back just in case.

"Arthur?" A voice called from behind him, and he whipped around to see Merlin hovering above the lamp. Relief threatened to make his knees buckle, but he pulled himself together and forced his facial features to resemble something like a scowl.

"Of course! Now is when he shows up." He groaned, but his lips were stretching into a grin and ruining the effect.

Merlin looked vaguely uncomfortable and he won't meet Arthur's eye. He was looking down, at the lamp, and it felt more like avoidance than anything else.

"Merlin? Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Sure." He replied.

Now that the immediate concern about Merlin's well being was satisfied, Merlin's behavior combined with Arthur's exhaustion made him feel very short tempered.

"If you aren't going to say anything... I am going to sleep. You can keep sulking or whatever it is you were doing all day." Arthur snapped and grabbed the handle to his bedroom door, glaring at Merlin one last time.

Merlin's eyes shot up at that, and there was a moment where their eyes met and Arthur saw terror in them- more terror than Arthur was sure was in his own eyes when there was a knife at his throat.

"Please..." Merlin said in barely more than a whisper, his eyes imploring Arthur to be kind.

How could Arthur ever resist such a plea, so he relaxed his stance and said resignedly."What is it Merlin? What do you want? I can't give it to you if you don't ask."

"Just..." Merlin said suddenly, and then trailed off, breaking eye contact.

Frustrated, Arthur raked the hand currently not on the handle of the door through his hair, and kept glaring at Merlin.

"Just let me stay in your bedroom." Words rushed out of Merlin's lips finally.

Arthur gaped, and even without looking at Arthur, Merlin colored up, his ears turning dark green.

"What?"

"You heard what I said."

"Absolutely not." Arthur ordered firmly, and Merlin met his eyes again. The plea in them, along with the fear and the brimming water was just not fair.

"I can't-I just- I need..." Merlin started over and over, losing the nerve to finish the sentence every time. He then took a visible deep breath- he didn't even need to breathe, the idiot- and then said his part before his courage failed him completely, "I can't bear the thought of not being there if something happens...again."

Arthur was speechless for a few minutes. The fear in Merlin's eyes was for him! The realization left him reeling with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude. He softened his voice and tried to calm him down,

"They are hardly going to attack me again tonight Merlin."

"I know." Merlin said despondently.

"Still?"

"Yeah... still." Merlin sighed, as if he was exasperated at himself but couldn't help it.

"I don't know Merlin. It would be kinda creepy. Me sleeping, you watching me sleep. Do you sparkle in the sun?"

"I don't understand that joke, and don't be a prat. Please. I know it's ridiculous, but-I promise to not even leave the lamp. I won't make you uncomfortable. I just need to be there." Merlin snapped in the start and then his voice turned pleading again.

"Okay. Alright." Arthur gave up, and took a few steps to pick up the lamp, while Merlin gave him a relieved grin and then turned into smoke and went back inside the lamp.

Arthur took it inside the room, ignoring the warmth coming from it, making him want to cradle it against his chest. He could've put it on a shelf at the opposite corner of his room, but something made him want to keep it close. So he put it on his bedside table, and then took off his shirt and jeans, too tired to change into night suit, and just snuck inside the blanket in his boxers. Belatedly he realized that Merlin could see everything from inside the lamp. The idea had not bothered him the first time Merlin had been physically present and he had left the bathroom in nothing but a towel, but it somehow made him feel shy now.

Too late to regret it, he got comfortable in the bed and was really close to drifting off when a voice suddenly piped up, too close to him for comfort, making him almost jump out of bed.

"One more thing..."

Arthur sat up, and looked around, but there was nobody around him. That was when he remembered the lamp, and demanded "What the hell Merlin?"

"I promised not to leave the lamp." The voice defended.

"Trust me. This is worse."

"Sorry." He did not sound sorry at all however.

"What do you want now?" He grumbled.

"Can I have your permission to show myself to someone who is threatening your safety? I can't do that unless you allow me." Merlin asked quietly.

"Yes." That was the only thing Arthur could say to his request, his throat clogged with up with a whirlwind of emotions Merlin's concern over him were creating in him.

"And... Can I throw objects at them? And like...touch them? Only if it's necessary to protect you. But I am basically an invisible, incorporeal ghost to everyone but you, unless you give me permission. So please... I know this is too much to ask, none of my previous masters would allow me this, and I would never even ask them- but I am asking you. Please?"

Arthur's heart was breaking, and he did not trust his voice to not break when he would reply. Merlin- loyal, powerful, and so _so_ sweet Merlin, and he had never asked even so much for himself in what Arthur feared had been centuries. He just gave and gave and gave, making someone's life a thousand times better every few decades, making their biggest desires come true, and then going back and repeating the whole process without any gain for himself.

How can anyone keep doing that over and over again? Without any end- without any hope of an end. Arthur could not even fathom it. And even now, when Merlin was asking-begging-for something, it was not for himself. It was for Arthur. To keep him safe.

He did not deserve Merlin. He doubted anyone ever could.

"Yes." He croaked out at length, his voice getting stuck even in this one syllable word, "Yes Merlin. Anything you want." Arthur continued.

"Thanks Arthur." Merlin said gravely, like he meant it, like Arthur had given him something important and big, when he had basically just allowed him to protect Arthur in any way he could.

Arthur wanted to shoot every single person who had ever denied Merlin anything. Feeling intensely guilty, but knowing Merlin did not want pity or comfort right now and respecting his privacy, Arthur laid back down in the bed, his eyes going back to the lamp over and over again. The need to sleep while cradling the lamp against his chest was overpowering, the idea of holding _Merlin_ against his chest even more so, but he pushed it down harshly. Merlin was already giving him so much, much more than he deserved, and a hell of a lot more than he could have ever asked for. It was selfish to want more.

Arthur drifted off the sleep that night with his heart a mess of contradictory emotions. He felt intensely lonely and extremely cherished at the same time. His heart was filled to the brim with a strange sadness and an overwhelming happiness at once. There was an overwhelming of having found something marvelous, but also the grief of profound loss. He felt whole... yet incomplete.

He was scared of someone attacking him again, even if he would never admit it to anyone. But at the same time, he had never felt so very safe in his life.

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry for a little bit delay in this chapter, it was my birthday yesterday and my sisters gave me an amaaazzzinngg party. But in all the activity there was really no time to edit and post a chapter. In good news, the rough draft of the entire story is complete and I will probably complete posting it within the next week :D. YAY for that. I love all of you awesome people who leave comments and make my day so much better._


	11. Chapter 11

His apartment was too quiet.

Arthur was used to staying alone, and the silence that accompanies it. But having an extremely chatty person in your house, sitting on your couch and staring off in a distance made for a very different kind of silence.

It was also a little of depressing.

After yesterday, Arthur knew not to try to force Merlin into conversation. He wanted solitude, and Arthur thought he was a big enough person to give him that. Unlike yesterday though, Merlin had taken to staying out of the lamp to stare aimlessly at the walls. Every now and then he would jerk out from where his mind had taken him and look around hastily, calming down when his blue eyes found Arthur. All the while, Arthur noticed, that he kept tugging at the bracelets on his wrists. If he was human, Arthur was sure he would've chafed his skin enough to draw blood by now.

Finally Arthur couldn't take it anymore after seeing Merlin go through the process several times, and he sat down next to Merlin with a purpose.

"Talk to me." Arthur ordered, not leaving any doubt to Merlin that this was not a request.

Merlin just spared a glance at him and then looked away without a comment.

"Listen to me," Arthur grabbed his face to turn it towards him with both hands, and reiterated, "Talk to me. I am not asking, I am ordering. I will make it an order, my last wish, if you force me to."

Blue eyes met blue, and Merlin stared for a few moments. Visibly swallowing, he brought his hands up as well and put them on Arthur's. For a heart stopping moment Arthur thought he would just leave them there, but then he slowly pried Arthur's fingers away from his face, still looking directly into his eyes.

He nodded.

"Okay," Merlin's voice was rusty, and Arthur did not like that one bit.

Arthur folded his hands on his chest and leaned back, giving Merlin space to take a deep breath and start talking.

"I am angry." Merlin started and his voice quivered with restraint, the blue in his irises getting a couple of sparks of gold for a second, "Angry at myself, for not hearing those guys come in; angry at you for not listening to me when I was screaming; angry at those bastards for even daring to harm you. Outrageously, murderously furious at this magic, binding me! It's a good thing I can't do magic right now, because if I could, my rage could only be satisfied by destroying half the city." Merlin looked away half way through the rant, fisting his hands and shaking with barely held back violent outrage.

Before Arthur could comment, Merlin continued, "I am also sad. Frustrated would be a better word. I remember I am powerful, so very powerful; but what's the fucking point when I can't even use my power when I need to. I am all but impotent, and it hurts. The magic under my skin, unused, hurts. I am tired of it. I almost wish I did not have it, then I would've died like normal people, and be done with everything. I don't want to continue living like this." Merlin sounded heartbroken, and Arthur felt like he couldn't breathe. His chest ached too much. He opened his mouth to speak, but voice abandoned him. Merlin had taken to tugging on his bracelets again.

Arthur thought Merlin won't say anything anymore, but he suddenly turned to look at Arthur, his eyes expressive. "I am also scared," he confessed in a small voice.

"What of?" Arthur forced his throat to work, and a croaky query came out.

"You." He whispered. "Of you hating me, of you abandoning me. But more than anything, of losing you. It's stupid, I know, because one more wish and then you will be gone, just like all of my masters before you. But that does not scare me. It makes me a little melancholy yeah, but not scared. Someone killing you does. I had this extreme sense of déjà vu when those bastards put a knife on you. Like it has happened before. Like I have failed you before. And I couldn't, couldn't bear that it was happening again... and I could not do anything. That I failed at protecting you once more. I was so afraid." Merlin breathed out, like he had to say it, like the words were poisoning him the longer they stayed inside.

"You terrify me with how much you make me feel; more than I have since before I was bound to this lamp." Merlin said at last, and Arthur knew he won't say any more. Arthur wanted to speak, wanted to tell Merlin that he meant a lot to Arthur too, but he had no idea what to say after how much Merlin had revealed, and how much courage it took to say so. Anything he would say would pale in comparison. He knew he would never be able to make himself so vulnerable, so he just stared into Merlin's earnest eyes, trying to show everything on his face that he couldn't articulate.

At length, Merlin tore his gaze away, looking down at the floor, and gave one harsh tug to the bracelet on one of his hands.

"Well, you wanted to know..." Merlin chuckled, embarrassed.

Arthur reacted before he could stop himself. He reached out and grasped Merlin's hand. Merlin froze, gaping at Arthur with wide eyes. Arthur ignored the look, and used his other hand to play with the gold band, noting that it was completely bare, and the writing that seemed to shine when Merlin performed magic was invisible in this state. Arthur moved it around, sure that he would find raw skin under it despite Merlin being an immortal mage, but only found pale green, semi transparent wrists. He delicately traced his fingers on the darker lines that substituted as veins for the warlock-hearing Merlin's breath hitch at the feeling- then went back to gently running his fingers on the bracelet, and voiced a question that had been bothering him all day,

"What are these?" He asked quietly.

"What do you think?" The answer was just as quiet.

"I have no idea. They glow when you do magic, and you tug on them when you talk about bonds, so I am guessing they are related to the spell that binds you to the lamp?" Arthur looked up at Merlin at that, but his gaze was fixated on Arthur's fingers on his wrist. At the question, he gently tugged his hand back, and held both his hands in front of him.

"You are not wrong. They are shackles. Pretty shackles, but shackles nonetheless. And they itch! Every time my magic struggles to come out, they burn and itch and I want to cut off my hands just to get these damned things off, just to be rid of them... but I can't. They are as much a part of me, the lamp genie, as my hands are." Merlin told him, in a voice carefully devoid of emotion.

"Can't you... break free? I mean you said that you are the strongest warlock, and by what I have seen I believe you. So can't you break the spell binding you?" Arthur asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Of course I can. I can feel the cracks in the chains holding me back. It would be so easy," He laughed here, mirthlessly and a little bit crazy, "so very easy to just... push. And the bonds will break. The fact that it's so easy is what makes this an even bigger torture."

"Then why don't you?" Arthur asked, not understanding.

Merlin looked at him at that like he was stupid, his eyes sad and accusing, his smile bitter, "It requires me to do magic. I can't do magic unless my master commands me." He said in a matter of fact tone. Like he wasn't just shoving a knife in Arthur's chest when he said that; like he wasn't making sure Arthur never slept another night without guilt crushing him.

"And no one ever asked you to?" To say he was horrified, was putting it mildly.

"Why would they?" There was that laugh again, the one that sounded like someone who had never known what happiness is, had assumed what laughter must sound like and tried to recreate the noise, "Why would anyone do something like this when they could ask for anything in the world. I am not that important, and people are selfish deep down, when it comes to making a limited number of wishes."

"But... Aladdin? I thought he freed you, that's what all the stories say. So I just thought, the fact you are still here means that... I really don't know what I thought."

"Ali." Merlin smile was nostalgic, "he was good. He almost did free me. But he wanted to be a Prince and marry Yasmin a lot more. They always do. It's human nature."

"Merlin, I..." Arthur was going to say it. Was going to order Merlin to free himself. He couldn't bear the thought of Merlin being in distress any longer if Arthur could do something about that...

The moment was broken by the sound of Arthur's apartment phone ringing, harsh in the hushed silence that had permeated the room. Merlin jerked his gaze away, closing in on himself, and Arthur cursed loudly.

Knowing that the moment was lost, Arthur realized how close he had been to Merlin, and hastily got up to put some distance between them. The continued ringing made him move his feet towards the kitchen counter, where the phone was lying-barely every used- unspeakably annoyed at whoever had disturbed him when he was going to make an incredibly important decision.

"Hi, who is it?"

"Arthur?"

"Morgana?" Immediately concerned, he asked, "Why are you calling here? What's wrong?"

"Oh thank the Gods. You are alright." She breathed out in relief, and then continued, "Can you please tell Percy here to let me up?"

Percy was the receptionist at his building, which meant Morgana was here!

"What are you doing here?"

"I can explain when I get up now, can't I? I just want to see you, little brother." Morgana tried for a teasing tone, but it was really the hidden desperation in it that made Arthur hasten to act.

"Give him the phone."

"Thanks." She said, and passed the phone to the receptionist.

After telling Percy to give Morgana the key to his floor, because he was lazy and always left one with the counter in case someone needed to come up-he trusted Percy, and anyway nobody could come up without him giving them the code- he went and stood by the elevator doors, almost forgetting about Merlin at the moment.

The elevator door dinged after a few minutes, and Arthur found himself staring at his sister, her clothes wrinkled, like she had slept in them, her hair messy. She was chewing her lips in anxiety and wringing her hands

"Hi." Arthur smiled, and before he could say another word, his arms were full of Morgana, her arms around his waist, her face hidden in his chest. He slowly raised one of his hands to her back, the other to her head to awkwardly pet her hair.

"You are alright." She breathed into her chest.

"Very much so. Yeah." He didn't think this was an appropriate time to tell her that he very nearly hadn't been. That could wait.

"I was so scared Arthur. I saw them slice your neck open. You couldn't speak; you just stared at me, like you were accusing me. Asking me that why didn't I save you." She spoke, her face still hidden, her body trembling.

"Morgana. Shhhh... Morgana. Everything is okay. I am okay. Nothing bad happened."

"Everything is not okay Arthur." She confessed in a quiet voice. "I am not normal. There is something wrong with me."

Arthur brought both of his hands to hold her arms, and slowly pushed her away to look at her face. She avoided his gaze.

"Why would you say that Morgs? Why would you possibly think that?"

"Arthur." She gulped, "Arthur... I woke up today and everything on my bedside table: the lamp, my cell phone, the photo frame, the candy wrappers, everything- they were floating. I thought I was still dreaming Arthur, except when I blinked, the lamp crashed and broke on the floor, and everything else smashed down on the table. It wasn't a dream. I have a broken lamp to prove it." She fidgeted, and then she looked at Arthur, her eyes full of earnestness, begging Arthur to not laugh at her.

Arthur wouldn't dream of it. He believed her.

He slowly rubbed her arms, trying to calm her down, and then led her slowly to the couch, noticing that Merlin was still sitting on it on one side and looking at him calmly, so he took her to the other side and slowly lowered her, crouching on the floor in front of her.

He held her hands, and caught her eye before saying. "I believe you Morgana."

"How can you. None of this is normal. I am not normal." Her eyes filled with tears, and one of them broke free and trailed down her cheek. "Arthur! I think I need some help."

"Yes. Yes you do." Arthur assured her, making more tears spill, "But not the kind you think. Hospital won't help you. But I know someone who would."

Merlin looked at him questioningly at that, and Arthur met his gaze. Without looking at Morgana, he said, "Morgs. I would like you to meet Merlin." And he nodded at him.

Morgana looked at Arthur, puzzled, until he smiled at her, and then nodded in Merlin's direction. Slowly Morgana turned, and then she gasped. Leaning as far away as she could from Merlin while still sitting on the small couch, she stared at Merlin for a few minutes, who-bless him- smiled his idiotic wide grin at her. Then she turned her face and looked at Arthur, her eyes wide and confused. She alternated between staring at both of them half a dozen times, her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.

"Hi." Merlin said helpfully when she started staring at him for the seventh time.

It was apparently an awful idea, because Morgana let out an ear splitting scream and stood up, trying to run away. Arthur quickly got to his feet and grabbed her, pulling her into a hug, while she struggled, eyes closed, lightly punching Arthur to get free.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey." Arthur shushed, "It's alright."

She kept struggling for a few minutes, and then went limp in his arms, shaking her head against his chest. "This isn't real. This isn't real." She chanted.

"I am sorry love, but it is."

She pulled back enough to look at him, and her face was wet with tears.

"We are both crazy." She said quietly, but with conviction.

"No we aren't." He lowered her back down to the couch, Merlin being considerate for once and getting up and hovering at a distance. Arthur sat down next to her, and slowly raised one of her hands to his neck.

He pried the bandage there away, letting Morgana see the knife wound. She traced it with her fingers, and then clasped her hand against her mouth.

"Oh my God."

"Yeah." Arthur smiled self deprecatingly. "It wasn't just a dream."

"Oh my God Arthur." She repeated, lightly sobbing, tears falling down her face once more.

"I am okay though. Just a scratch. That's all that happened. Your warning helped, even if I made light of it. And honestly... Merlin helped." Arthur twisted his face to beam at Merlin, who hesitantly returned his smile.

"Who..." Morgana looked at Merlin for just a second, and then jerked her eyes away and looked at Arthur again, asking "Who is he?"

"You could ask him. He loves to talk." Arthur laughed, but Morgana just shook her head.

"Remember the lamp you told me to buy. He came out of it."

Morgana's face cleared a bit on that, and she raised her eyebrows at Arthur. "You are kidding me."

"He really wishes he was." Merlin quipped from Arthur's side.

"I can't believe this. This is all an elaborate hoax. You will laugh at me any second." Morgana muttered, more to herself than Arthur.

"Trust me Morgs. It's, magic is, really real."

"Really real is an awful way of describing reality." Merlin teased, which made Arthur look at him angrily and snap, "Can you give a brother and sister a moment. Jesus! Don't you have any tact."

"You are doing one horrible job of comforting her, just saying."

"You are the one that made her scream though." He accused

"And you made her cry when you told her you were attacked. Honestly, couldn't that have waited?"

"I had to make her believe she isn't just imagining it all."

"Oh and reminding her of her _dreams_ is a great way of reassuring her that this isn't one?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, considering how dumb you are."

"Still better than you, clot pole."

"That's not even a word, idiot."

"Prat."

Morgana's peal of laughter broke them out of their pissing match, and they both turned around and gaped at her. Where she had seemed to be close to a nervous breakdown a few minutes ago, right now she was smiling and there was laughter in her eyes.

"Wha-" Arthur gaped.

Morgana raised her hand and patted Arthur's cheek, "Even if this is a hallucination, but really, I am not that creative so I don't believe it is, I have to say it's a really entertaining one." She turned her face towards Merlin then, "I like you. You are cute."

Merlin blushed, which made Arthur laugh and comment, "You are embarrassing him Morgana. Do continue."

"Shut up prat." Merlin mumbled.

"Oh and you Arthur, "Morgana turned towards him again, "don't think I have forgotten how big a boner you had for the Genie when you were young... "

Arthur hastily covered Morgana's face whispering, "Shut up! Shut up!" but not before Merlin had heard and had started laughing.

"This is turning out to be an awful day." Arthur groaned and sank back into the couch, closing his eyes.

"Don't mind him My Lady!" Merlin was all courteous now.

"Please call me Morgana."

"Morgana," Merlin smiled and inclined his head, "everything else aside, the thing is... you have magic."

Morgana stared at him in disbelief, and then shook her head, "This is a joke."

"It's really not." Merlin swooped in and sat in front of her, and slowly, waiting for Morgana to nod and give permission, he grasped both of her hands in his, mirroring the position Arthur had been in a few minutes ago. "You know it's not. You have felt it, this warm, alive thing inside of you. It feels like a pulsing beating heart, alongside your own. You believe me, because you have used it, like an extra limb, just invisible, and so much more powerful. You don't want to accept that, because you are scared, and I understand that- I really do. But denying the truth won't do you any good."

Morgana looked straight into Merlin's eyes, and Arthur watched with rapt attention as she seemed to absorb his every word. Hesitantly, slowly, she nodded.

"Yes." She breathed out.

"That's more like it." Merlin smiled at her, and it sounded extremely patronizing to Arthur, but Morgana's smiling face and tear filled eyes told him that it was the correct thing to say.

"It's... violent. "Morgana confessed, still looking at Merlin, as if waiting for him to judge her.

"No it's not. It's caged, and ignored. It's scared, because you are. And everything that is scared reacts violently. It only acts out when you are distressed right?"

She nodded, so Merlin continued, "And how is it when you are not distressed? When you are happy? I know you ignore it and pretend it's not there, but I know you understand what I am talking about."

"It's... pleased. Warm and reassuring, and happy. When I am happy, it dances." Morgana had a dazed smile on her face when she said that.

"Exactly. And reach for it right now. Close your eyes, feel it, and tell me what is it feeling at this moment, with me holding your hands and telling you it's going to be alright?"

Morgana closed her eyes haltingly, like she was afraid if she closed them Merlin would vanish, but he just smiled at her encouragingly giving her time to go at her own pace.

She took a deep breath, and then looked like she was meditating, searching for something. Suddenly a huge grin split her face.

"I can feel it." She said in awe, "It's- it's beautiful."

"I know." Merlin smiled brightly, but Arthur could tell it was also little sad. "Is it violent right now?"

"No."

"Then..." Merlin

"It's...excited." Morgana spoke as if someone is talking about a child, and then she let out a short laugh that was full of mirth, "and, it's a little bit in love."

She opened her eyes, and looked at Merlin fondly.

"It's my magic." Merlin explained, "It likes yours too."

"I could feel your magic as well." Morgana sounded stunned.

"As I can feel yours. I felt it the first time you touched the lamp in Arthur's office. And my own magic has been so starved for the feel of a kindred spirit, that it immediately developed a fondness for yours. They are both green." Again with the green comment, Arthur thought, amused. "I am glad the feeling is mutual."

"What am I going to do?" She didn't sound worried, just confused.

"You are going to use it, like magic is supposed to be used. If you keep it locked and caged, it's going to make you both miserable. "

"But I don't know how."

"And that's where I come in. Or more like, that's where your prat of a brother made sure I come in. I told him there are people better suited for this, but he was adamant." Merlin threw an annoyed glance his way, and then gave Morgana's hands a last reassuring squeeze before moving away." I am going to help you practice. It would be difficult, considering I can't do magic, but I will do my best."

"Wait wait, I felt your magic. I know you can. Why did you say you can't do magic?" Morgana inquired.

Arthur opened his mouth to explain, "Actually-"

"Actually, it's a long story. It can wait for some other time. Why don't you get some rest right now because honestly, you look like a wreck. We can talk about it later, and about what to do about your training." Merlin avoided her question and looked genuinely interested in the prospect of her training.

"That's a surprisingly good idea, considering it came from Merlin." Arthur agreed, letting Merlin avoid the topic of his imprisonment for now, knowing it was painful and raw, "You really do need some rest. I haven't seen you look so disheveled even when you are hung over after partying all night."

"Okay." Morgana nodded, too drained to argue or retort, "I guess I will get going." She got up and straightened her shirt.

"No, no no! No way am I letting you go home like this. You will wake up and think this was all an elaborate nightmare as well. You sleep in my room." Arthur decided.

"I can't. Where will you sleep then?" Morgana looked reluctant.

"It's the middle of the day Morgs. I am not going to sleep any time soon. Don't complain, just... go." Arthur shooed her towards his door, and after giving Arthur one long look to be certain he was sure, Morgana gave a sharp nod and moved towards his bedroom.

Too late, Arthur realized that even though he had tried to correct everything as much as he could, there was still a hole in his wall, scratches on every object, and every single electronic was fused and charred. Morgana stepped inside and gaped, turning around to look at Arthur with wide eyes.

"Don't blame me." Arthur shrugged, "this was all Merlin."

"Shut up." Merlin said sheepishly.

At that moment, Morgana yawned widely. She then gave them both a long assessing look and said, "I am too tired for this right now. But you _will_ explain. Every single thing. Later." She warned threateningly, but the effect was ruined by another yawn that followed.

Frustrated at herself, she slammed the door shut, presumably getting into bed and sleeping. They both stood there for a while, staring at the closed door.

"That went well." Arthur proclaimed at last.

"No thanks to you." Merlin snorted.

"I would have you know, I was handling it very well. Until you interrupted."

"If you have had your way, she would still be crying. Admit it, I was awesome."

"You wish Merlin. You wish."

"I can hear both of you. Do you want me to sleep or not." Morgana called out from inside, and they both hastily shuffled away from there, and Arthur put as much distance between himself and Morgana, going into the kitchen and deciding to make himself a snack and then start making dinner for when his sister woke up. He suspected she hadn't eaten in quite some time.

After a while, Merlin said quietly, "You know, I could put protective charms around your place, and your office, and for that matter even on you. To protect you from similar attacks in the future." Arthur looked up at Merlin, who was staring resolutely at the ground. "You could make that your third wish."

Suddenly remembering what Arthur had been thinking before Morgana called and created the mayhem, his heart clenched. Merlin- the idiot, the lovable, incredibly loyal, and so very selfless idiot- was still thinking of Arthur. Even after telling him that the only way he could be free was if his master wished it so, he had not asked Arthur for it. He had assumed that Arthur would not want that.

What kind of assholes had he served till now?

Arthur felt extremely furious on his behalf. How could anyone look at Merlin, use him, exploit his misfortune, and never once care to know what he wanted. It had been centuries... how had nobody before him cared for Merlin? loved him?

"That's nice of you to offer," Arthur said as nonchalantly as he could, "but I have already thought of what I want."

"Oh!" Merlin looked up, and Arthur could swear he saw disappointment swimming in them, before he looked away.

"Yeah."

"Umm... Can it wait though?" Merlin asked, and then added hastily, "I just mean, I would be gone after it. And Morgana need help. So, it's not urgent is it?" He looked fondly at the closed door of Arthur's bedroom. For a moment, Arthur felt an insane jealousy towards his own sister. Merlin said his magic liked her, and she had said her magic was a little bit in love with Merlin. Merlin was _his_.

But then he remembered he had practically begged Merlin to help Morgana, and he was just doing what he had asked, expecting nothing in return. The thought suddenly warmed his heart.

"No, it's not urgent." He smiled at Merlin, reveling in the fact that Merlin suddenly looked up and met his gaze as well, smiling, "It can wait. Of course it can wait."

* * *

 _A/N: Let's have the longest chapter I have ever written. It just wouldn't stop going on! I hope you guys like it._


	12. Chapter 12

"I am telling you Merlin, I can't do it." Morgana looked up from where she had been intently staring at her hands that were cupping a rose bud, to meet Merlin's gaze.

It was late afternoon, and the shadows had started lengthening by the time Morgana had woken up. She had barely taken a few minutes to freshen up, tying her hair in a high pony tail, and had started harassing Merlin to start teaching her how to do magic, which led them here. They were both sitting on sofa, slightly turned so they were facing each other, and Merlin had plucked a half opened rose bud from the flower vase on the table and had placed it in Morgana's hand with the instruction of _make it bloom._

"Of course you can Morgana. Just give it a try." Merlin insisted.

"I don't even know what to do! You are forgetting that I have never used magic before."

"You have! You just don't remember doing it."

"It's the same thing." Morgana snapped, and then turned her face to look accusingly at Arthur, as if blaming him for Merlin's hopelessness. With herculean effort, Arthur stopped himself from laughing and gave Morgana a sympathetic look.

"Why can't we do something like lightening a candle or something? That would make more sense."

"Fire takes more energy, external energy." Merlin explained, "It's very easy to bring it out when you are angry or emotional, but when deliberately attempting it, it takes a lot more effort and power, and not to mention control- fire is a dangerous element to play around with. Furthermore the candle is not going to light itself unless someone shows it flame, but a bud is going to bloom no matter what... all you are doing is coaxing it a little bit more, giving it an extra push."

When he put it like that, it made a lot of sense to Arthur. Morgana seemed to agree because she straightened her shoulders and nodded.

"Also," Merlin added conspiratorially, "Our magic is green. It's automatically inclined to do stuff related to earth and nature more than anything else."

This sounded like horseshit to Arthur, but made Morgana smile, so he must have said something right.

"Alright. Tell me what to do." Morgana said at length.

"Okay first, you need to learn this word. Words have power, and maybe someday you would be able to do magic without words directing it, but for starting out, the words make magic more docile and controllable."

"Yeah, I got it. What word?"

" Kósmima"

"Kósmima," Morgana repeated, and then asked, "What does that mean?"

"It means blossom or flourish, in Greek."

"Uh- so why can't I just say bloom? It's my magic... won't it understand my own language better?"

Merlin opened and closed his mouth a few times, and then shook his head. "I have no idea."

Morgana laughed, and then took mercy on Merlin and repeated the word a few times, giving Merlin a go ahead look.

"Close your eyes," when she complied, "now, reach for the magic core inside you. You have rarely touched it before so it might be shy, but it would be eager for coming out and playing anyway. Nod when you find it." After a while Morgana nodded, which made Merlin grin.

"Okay now, treat it like a really young child, and gently coax it to spread through you, reach your finger tips and your palm, and when it does, and say the word."

Morgana pinched her face and concentrated, until Arthur could see slight green glow beginning on her palm. Even Arthur could tell it was too soon when Morgana opened her face and quickly muttered,

 _"Kósmima"_

The glow on Morgana's hand died, and the rose bud lay in her hand in exactly the same state it had been before she had started. She slumped. Nothing had happened.

"I told you. I can't do it." Morgana complained to Merlin.

"You can't rush this Morgana. You need to feel for the life thread of the flower, and then nudge it."

Morgana just made a defeated face. Merlin asked her if she wanted to try again, and she shook her head, putting the stem back in the vase.

"I am barely recognizing my own magic right now Merlin. I am definitely not ready to try to find life threads of other things. I don't even know what that means for fucks sake." She sighed.

Merlin, who had been so energetic till now, slumped as well, dropping his shoulders. He stared forlornly at the vase for a few minutes, and then suddenly his eyes sparkled.

"I have an idea."

"It's going to be another terrible one." Arthur commented. They both turned and gave him a sharp look but he was unapologetic. They had all but forgotten he existed, and Arthur couldn't have that now, could he?

Merlin shook his head at him, his smile fond, and then reached forward and took a fully blossomed rose from the vase, and turned towards Morgana excitedly.

"So, it's hard to make your magic do something for the first time, and you are right. I may have been wrong," Arthur snorted at that, but Merlin ignored him, "I should never have started you out with something complicated. So here is the new plan. Let's do something you have already done."

"But... I have never done magic before." Morgana asked in confusion.

"Yes you have. Didn't you tell Arthur just a while back that you made everything on your bedside table float in air?"

Morgana's eyes shone with hope at that, but she was still unsure. "I didn't do it consciously Merlin. I have no idea how."

"You don't. But your magic does. It has done it before so it would be more compliant if asked to do it again. I am telling you, this is going to work. Hold out your hands."

Morgana extended her hands, palm up, and Merlin plucked out half a dozen petals from the flower he was holding in his hand and dumped them on her palms.

"Good." Merlin said smugly, and then stared at Morgana expectantly.

Arthur, realizing what was happening, took a few steps forward and smacked Merlin on his head.

"She doesn't know what to do, you idiot." He scolded, and then went and sat beside Morgana on the arm rest of the sofa.

"Oh," Merlin absently rubbed his head, not even complaining, "Sorry. I forgot."

"Typical."

Merlin glared at him, which made Morgana snap, "stop flirting with my brother and tell me what to do."

Flushing, he said, "Okay. So the word, spell, or whatever else you want to call it, is _fueris_."

"Fueris! Okay, I got it."

"Okay now. Close your eyes again and reach for your magic. This time when you find it, don't be hasty. Let it settle down in your fingers, until it's bubbling and antsy to be let out. Then... feel the petals, not with like your skin, but magic, and then say the words thinking about the leaves rising in air and floating. Understood?"

Morgana gave a hesitant nod, and Merlin extended both of his hand and placed them under Morgana's, which carried the petals, lightly supporting them. "You can do it. I know you can. Just believe in yourself." Merlin reassured her.

Taking a deep breath, Morgana closed her eyes. From where he was sitting Arthur could not see his sister's face, but he noticed when Morgana's hand started to glow again. This time, she did not rush, and soon her hands had light green, flimsy wisps of green light dancing on her palms, a lot like Merlin had the first time he did magic, except these were more delicate and much less bright. They were just as beautiful though.

"Now Morgana." Merlin whispered.

" _Fueris._ "

The glow on her hand got brighter and Arthur's breath caught as he saw the petals moving on her palms, restless. Very slowly, one of them rose a few centimeters in the air, and then, one by one, the rest of them followed.

Morgana opened her eyes and started at them in wonder. "Wow." She breathed out.

"Yeah. Wow." Merlin agreed, pleasure evident on his face.

Suddenly Morgana started laughing lightly, letting the petals fall back on her palm, and then dropping her hands. She slumped back, and in the process her back came to rest lightly against Arthur's side. Her chest kept heaving with small bursts of laughter, and she turned around a bit and buried her face against Arthur's waist. Arthur started running his hands through her hair feeling incredibly happy for her. He smiled brightly at Merlin, showing all of his gratitude in the look. Merlin returned the smile, with a hint of pride in it.

A sob startled him. Somewhere in the last minute Morgana had stopped laughing and now was crying softly, a hiccup leaving her mouth sometimes.

"Hey, hey." He held her head with the hand that he had been running through her hair, slowly pushing her until he could see her face. "Why the tears darling? Everything is great."

"I did it Arthur." She smiled, even though her face was wet with tears. "It's real. I wasn't crazy. I did it." She hiccupped again, and Arthur slid down from the arm rest, squeezing himself on the sofa along with Merlin and Morgana, and hugged her tightly.

"You aren't crazy at all sweetheart. You are amazing."

"I did it." She repeated again, awed.

He kept rubbing her back, trying to soothe her. He gave Merlin a bewildered look, who was looking awkwardly back at him. They had never had to comfort a crying girl and were out of their depth.

After a while, Morgana extricated herself from Arthur's embrace, grabbed a couple of tissue papers from the side table to wipe her face, and turned towards Merlin.

"Again?" Merlin asked cautiously.

"Again." She smiled.

She performed the same spell four more times, scared she would fail before starting each time, and laughing in delight when it came to her easier and easier. Her eyes were glinting, and Arthur noticed they went golden the same way Merlin's did when she whispered the spell.

"I want to try the rose bud blooming thing again." Morgana said.

"No you don't." Arthur intervened.

"Wha- you don't get to boss me around Arthur." Morgana looked at him, annoyed.

"Yes I do."

"But why not?" She whined petulantly.

"Many reasons. One, look at you. You are tired, there are bags under your eyes, and every time you make those petals float you exhaust yourself even more. Magic takes energy right?" He looked at Merlin who nodded apologetically. "You have had an emotionally and physically draining day. You need rest. Secondly, I cooked dinner, and the sun has set. So, let's leave some magic for next time yeah?" Arthur insisted.

Morgana seemed to consider that, and then reluctantly agreed.

"Tomorrow?" She asked.

"Tomorrow." Arthur agreed.

"So it's done. I will come over after work, and we will try something new." Morgana looked at Merlin, only relaxing when he promised her that yes, they will.

Work! Tomorrow was Monday. Arthur's forced leave was going to be over and Arthur had never thought he would be so upset about going to office. The time had flown, and now he was going to be stuck in the old routine again.

He groaned. Both Morgana and Merlin looked at him questioningly, but he shook his head.

"I didn't realize it's Sunday already."

"Brother! Sunday is over. It's almost Monday already." Morgana teased.

"Don't blame him Morgana." Merlin joined her in the teasing, "I have that tendency. Of making people lose track of time. It's the charisma."

"No. It's probably because you spend centuries droning on and on, lulling other's into sleep."

"Admit it Arthur. You love my company, and are going to miss me."

"I miss the calm place that used to be my house before you came bumbling in."

"You _bought_ me!" Merlin shouted indignantly.

"I bought the lamp! For an insane price too, if I may say so." Arthur insisted for what felt like the tenth time.

"Same thing. And I am so worth the price." Merlin preened.

"You two are so adorable." Morgana commented in a voice filled with mirth, and she pulled Arthur's cheek with one hand and Merlin's with other.

"Ow." They said in unison, batting away her hand.

Her tinkling laugh made Arthur's heart fill with so much contentment and joy that he felt it brimming up, until his eyes filled with water. He quickly got up, and started setting up food on the little four-chaired dining table in the kitchen that was barely ever used. He had cooked homely pasta with chicken and white sauce. He started to set up three plates, but realized that Merlin couldn't eat. It was kind of a painful realization, but he soldiered on, calling his sister and the genie when he was done.

Morgana took a chair, and Merlin pulled out the other one to sit down.

"Two plates Arthur? You aren't going to eat? I know I tease you about getting fat, but you need not diet today. I am sure the right person will find you attractive anyway." Morgana teased, glancing at Merlin meaningfully. Merlin's ears turned dark green.

"Actually..." Merlin interrupted before Arthur could speak, "I don't eat. I have no digestive track."

"That's a pretty decent explanation compared to what I got, so count your blessings Morgs." Arthur said, and settled down in his chair as well.

"Oh sweetie." Morgana exclaimed, suddenly concerned. "You haven't eaten in centuries?"

"I don't really need it." Merlin shrugged, carefree.

"But don't you miss the taste?" Morgana fussed.

"I don't remember what to miss." Merlin laughed, a little sadly. "And I honestly don't miss what comes _after_ the food is digested and has to come out."

"And there he goes again. You could only be spared for so long." Arthur sighed. "House rules for you Merlin: never mention bowl habits when other people are eating." He lectured.

"Yes boss!" Merlin saluted, lightening up the gloominess that had permeated the environment.

Even then, halfway through the dinner, Arthur caught Morgana's eye. She gave him a stern look, and because they were siblings and had been communicating through eyes since they were children, Arthur could read, clear as day, what she was trying to say.

 _Fix it_ , her eyes were imploring. She quickly glanced towards Merlin, and then back to him, making sure he understood what she was implying.

Arthur gave a barely there nod, but he knew his sister would have no problem in reading the gesture as what it was. _I plan on it_! He promised, through his eyes and in his heart. Merlin deserved that and more.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: This is the next 3 months of Arthur's life in fast forward. I had fun writing this chapter but it feels all messy to me. I hope you guys like it. Do let me know._

 _Oh and also MERRY CHRISTMAS, and to those who don't celebrate... HAPPY HOLIDAYS._

* * *

Next week saw Arthur settle into a routine. It was vastly different than anything he had before, or anything he ever expected to have, yet it was everything he could ever have wanted. Leaving for office on Monday was the hardest, especially because it involved leaving Merlin alone in the house. The warlock had given him the most heart meltingly pleading look, asking him to take him along, but Arthur was adamant. He had learnt his lesson the first time. If he took Merlin with him he would get zero work done the entire day.

That was not to say that his work didn't suffer as his mind lingered on Merlin during the day. He kept going between the absolute certainty that his apartment would be completely demolished when he got back home, and the nagging doubt that maybe Merlin was not real, and he had imagined it all. It was the first time he had been away from Merlin from any significant period of time since acquiring him, and that was the reason Freya found him, briefcase packed, all pending files sorted, and ready to leave at 5:00pm- just like everyone else at the place. His secretary gaped at him uncomprehendingly, until he told her she can go home. Her inquiring about his health made him realize that he had been an awful boss, keeping Freya in the office with him till midnight some days just because he was workaholic and had no life. He vowed to give her a raise next month.

He walked home that day, a practice that became his norm in the coming days, because he had forgotten he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of life around him. Walking by the place where Witch's Den used to be made him pause and smile, and then quicken his steps. He _missed_ Merlin.

Morgana was already there when he reached home. Apparently she had kept the key, and refused to return it to him even when he asked. Technically he could change the password, but he kind of liked the fact that Morgana wanted to come over often, even if he won't admit it out loud, ever. When he questioned her how she got here earlier than him, even though he left office earlier than he had ever before in his life, she just laughed and said "I am magic, remember?" It was a horrible explanation but Merlin and Morgana both seemed very pleased by it, so Arthur just rolled his eyes and freshened up.

Rest of the week passed like that, Morgana being there when he reached home more often than not, and hoarding Merlin. At first Arthur felt jealous and resentful because it seemed like Merlin and Morgana were forming a quickly deepening attachment with every passing day. He understood why it was. Merlin had magic, and so did Morgana; they shared a bond Arthur could not hope to imagine. But then Morgana would leave- sometimes before the sun set, sometimes late after having dinner - and Merlin would stand beside him, or collapse by his side if he was sitting, and bump shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. He would ask about Arthur's day, and tell him about everything he had done himself, always whining about how absolutely _boring_ it was when Arthur wasn't there for him to bug. Merlin seemed perfectly pleased in Arthur's company - even more than in Morgana's but it might just be his imagination- and it went a long way in making him not resent his sister for Merlin's attention and time. He wasn't a _complete_ asshole.

Merlin had also taken to reading the entirety of Arthur's bookshelf, reading his economics and business books as well, and very soon, Arthur anticipated, that he would be able to ask for advice from Merlin.

Imagine that. Merlin being his adviser. The thought suddenly didn't seem as ridiculous as he would've expected.

It became their ritual to watch a movie together at night, and Arthur started educating Merlin about the classics. They had already seen everything related to Aladdin, so Arthur asked if Merlin had seen the star wars. What followed was some serious discussion about how can someone live for so long and have not seen star wars! Merlin argued that he wasn't on vacation through it all! He was actually a slave and if Arthur stopped being a prat and remembered it, it would be nice. They ended up watching the first three movies in one go, both of them ignoring Lea's hotness and sighing over how perfect Han Solo was. The next day Merlin was unbearable, talking in yoda speech throughout, and they finished their Star wars marathon. Arthur made Merlin see the God Father- which he loved, and schindler's list-which horrified him a little bit, making him incredibly sad. The biggest mistake was watching gone with the wind with him- Merlin had insisted, apparently there was a copy of the book on Arthur's shelf that he didn't even remember buying and Merlin had read it. Arthur thought that if he heard Merlin say " _Frankly my dear! I don't give a damn,_ " as a retort to every time Arthur made fun of him anymore, he would go crazy- not the least bit because of how the words _my dear_ sounded in Merlin's accented voice. The day they watched Wizard of Oz was his favorite, because Merlin enjoyed watching magical things, to an outrageous degree! Happy Merlin meant happy Arthur. That's just how things had started to be.

Morgana, to put it mildly, had been flourishing under Merlin's tutelage. On Monday, she managed to make the flower bloom, the way she had failed to the previous day. Merlin than taught her how to move objects around, how to feel things with her magic, and how to identify with, and talk to nature around her. She had taken to feeding a little bit magic into the indoor creeper plant he kept in his kitchen, and every day it grew a couple of centimeters, just like Morgana grew in her confidence. Merlin had made Arthur buy an incredibly expensive book online, from a so called antique shop. A book that claimed to be a book of spells, but honestly seemed like a hoax. Merlin told him to shut up and not talk about the things he doesn't understand. The book was urgently delivered the next day, and it was the real deal. Morgana clutched it like a lifeline, and Merlin taught her new spells from it, whenever he felt like she was in control enough to try it.

The teaching surprised Arthur by how much of it involved closing one's eyes and meditating. He was sure if he had to sit that straight on hard floor for hours on end, he would need to start doing yoga for back problems. Morgana seemed to love it though. She came out of the meditation smiling, every time. When he voiced his incredulousness about it, she just looked at him weirdly and told him "It's meditation. It's supposed to be relaxing."

Merlin took a lot of joy in teaching Morgana too. Every time she successfully mastered a new spell, Merlin could not stop beaming. The happiness was contagious. Arthur had not felt so content in all of his life, and he was afraid he will jinx it.

A full week later, on Sunday, Morgana mastered how to light a candle with nothing but a whispered word, and Arthur felt his world closing in. With a reverent but powerful _Forbearnan_ a flame appeared on the wick of the candle, lighting up the faces of Morgana and Merlin, and she lunged forward to hug him. Merlin looked at Arthur over her shoulder, proud.

At night, Merlin sat beside Arthur like usual, as Arthur continued his education on amazing movies everyone should've seen- today was Casablanca day- and spoke quietly.

"Morgana is doing great right?"

"Mhm! She has always been a quick learner."

"Pretty soon she won't need me anymore."

Arthur felt everything get quiet after that statement. Was Merlin saying what he thought he was saying? He paused the movie and turned towards him.

"Don't be stupid Merlin. She has barely started. A week ago she didn't even know magic existed. You are saying she is ready to be on her own already?" Arthur sounded a little harsh to even his own ears, but he could not contemplate the fact that Morgana didn't need Merlin already. Because he needed Merlin dammit. And if Morgana was done, there was no reason to keep him, no justification in keeping him bound against his will. Arthur should free him, he should!

"I am not saying now, you complete clotpole. I am saying she is learning quickly. So you won't need to wait long before you can ask me for whatever it is you want, without worrying about her." Merlin changed tracks, and Arthur hoped it was because he wasn't ready to leave just yet either. If it was up to Arthur, he could wait. He could wait a really long time. He could wait forever.

But Merlin could change his mind any time, and get tired of Arthur. He needed strategy.

"I never asked. I saw you reading the third HP book, but none after that. What happened?"

Merlin made a face, which made Arthur laugh. "You didn't have the rest of them, because you are an awful person."

"Why didn't you just ask for them?" Arthur asked, bewildered.

"Uh-" Oh right! Merlin didn't ask for things for himself.

"I will get them for you tomorrow." Arthur promised, and Merlin smiled at him, a little bit confused, and a lot grateful.

Arthur went to a book shop Monday morning, and bought the rest of the books. On a whim, he removed the 7th book from the pile at the cash counter. He would never admit it- to himself or anyone else- that he did it to bribe Merlin to stay just one more week. He couldn't leave without reading the last book of the series, could he?

Morgana continued to grow, and Merlin continued to become an essential part of their lives. Arthur and Morgana had always been close, but now they spent a few hours together every day, and it went a long way to strengthen their bond. Merlin became a friend for both of them, part of family, and for Arthur... something more. Merlin became everything Arthur had ever wanted in a companion. The only problem was... Merlin wasn't human. Most of the time Arthur did not remember that important fact.

Friday was when Merlin ended reading Half Blood Prince, lounging on the sofa while Arthur worked on his laptop. A whooshing sound, and instinct, made him duck. The book that had been in Merlin's hand for the last few hours, was now whipping over the point where his head had been a moment ago. It was a hard cover book.

He looked back at Merlin, a little bit in anger, a lot in shock. He was glaring back at him, with what looked suspiciously like tears in his eyes.

"What the hell Merlin?"

"You _arse_! Dumbledore is dead and I don't have the next book." Merlin moaned in despair. Arthur suspected he would be crying if genies could cry! It probably wasn't biologically possible for them, but Merlin looked close. He still wasn't asking for the book though, just complaining.

"I told you before; the shop was short of it." Arthur lied expertly.

"Hmph!" Merlin just pouted.

"You big baby," Arthur got up from his table and came towards him, gesturing him to scoot so he could sit beside the warlock. "We all waited 2 years for the next book. I am sure you can wait two days."

Merlin just let out a pitiful sad whine, and Arthur wrapped one arm around his shoulder, squeezing him against his size. Merlin was very malleable beside him, taking comfort in Arthur's proximity. Arthur remembered what a wreck he had been when he had read the book as well. He could sympathize.

Alright. He was a bastard. He had known this was exactly what would happen. But he could sympathize.

He compensated for it by watching all of Harry Potter movies, except the last two, over the weekend. Merlin was as appalled by the _'did you put your name in the goblet of fire'_ as any potterhead worthy of their title should be, and Arthur felt proud of that.

Merlin did not mention anything about Morgana not needing him anymore over that weekend, and Arthur wanted to do a victory dance. The allure of reading the next Harry Potter book had won! His plan had worked.

The creeper in Arthur's kitchen continued to grow, now reaching till the middle of the wall, and Arthur had to buy new supports for it. Morgana took to telekinesis like fish to water, and started moving things around, especially when Arthur would reach for them. _Onstyrian, onbregdan_ became words Arthur grew to despise, because it always ended in him looking foolish, and Merlin and Morgana rolling on the floor laughing. She tried to take him off guard, and rejoiced every time she succeeded. Arthur had never noticed the fact that his sister looked sick all the time, dark circles expertly hidden by makeup, the loss of weight covered by curve hugging clothes, and an iron clad will helping her mask her fears and vulnerabilities. Now, he started seeing the woman she was, when all of her nightmares were taken away from her. She was beautiful, inside out. She looked so much healthier than she did when she had come crying into his apartment barely 3 weeks ago.

One day, during the middle of the third week into their strange domestic living situation, Morgana came over to Arthur's flat when the sun had all but sunk down the horizon. She was not alone.

"Arthur," She said carefully, not looking at or mentioning Merlin, "this is Mordred."

A little boy peaked out from where he was hiding behind her back. He was barely ten years old, with striking eyes and dark hair. He looked at Arthur reluctantly and then ducked behind Morgana to hide once more.

Arthur looked at his sister uncomprehendingly, so she explained.

"He has been following me around all day," Morgana explained, and before Arthur can get needlessly alarmed she elaborated, "He told me he needs my help."

"Okay..." Arthur was more confused than before now. Why did Morgana need to bring the kid here if he needed her help.

"He talks to me." She told him when he still didn't get it. "He talks to me without moving his lips Arthur. I can hear it in my head. "

And oh! Now he got it. Mordred had magic too.

"He is scared Arthur. He ran away from his house yesterday because he made the chandelier fall down and the windows of the room crack in an angry fit. He thinks he is a danger to his family and to protect them he left. He said he could sense me from his house. Has been able to ever since he can remember, but lately he could feel it getting stronger, and I was the first person he thought of after running away." She had a pleading tone in her voice the reason for which becomes clear when she said, "He needs help Arthur. Merlin's help."

Loathe as he was to share Merlin even more, the extremely hopeful look in the eyes of a young boy, who looked so extremely terrified at the same time won him over. The fact that Merlin looked like he had just found an adorable furry little animal and he wanted to coo over it and wrap it in a soft wool blanket to keep it safe forever, helped. In the end though, it was the selfish little voice in his head that told him if Mordred needed Merlin's help to control and learn his magic as well, he would probably stay longer, that made him nod his head and agree to keep another stray.

Mordred's problem was not that he didn't know how to use his magic or how to make it do his bidding. His problem was he didn't know how to stop it. It reacted to his moods faster than he could anticipate, happiness making a soft breeze to flow around and the flowers to bloom brighter and prettier, sadness making the lights flicker, but anger making things blow up without his control.

Mordred's reaction to Merlin surprised everyone by how unsurprised he was. He just looked at the warlock in wonder and nodded his head, and smiled his first real smile ever since he had entered the apartment. After contacting his family and telling him Mordred was alright- his mom had been sick with worry- they fed him warm food, Merlin taught him how to meditate and calm his magic down which was frazzled and terrified and lonely, and then Morgana bundled him up and took him back to his house, with the promise that he could come to Morgana any time, and she would bring him here whenever he asked.

Morgana it seemed, was quite taken with the child. She had always had motherly instincts and Mordred with his delicate frame and helpless fear could awaken the protective instincts in even Uther. Morgana was nothing in front of the power of those imploring eyes.

"Thank you Emrys." He said quietly to Merlin before leaving, and it was the first time he had spoken all day, Morgana had been his voice whenever he had wanted to convey something. He felt comfortable in speaking to Morgana's mind, more than he was in speaking out loud.

Something about the name, _Emrys_ , put a dazed and shocked look on Merlin's face for the rest of the day, but try as he might Arthur could not imagine why Mordred would call him that. The word did not even sound vaguely familiar.

The topic was never brought up again, as Merlin began training both Morgana and Mordred. Where the former had now grown much surer of herself, the latter took a lot of tact and energy. Mordred was stubborn and fussy, and his temper quickly changed and shifted, causing his magic to adapt and be very unpredictable. Merlin decided that the best course of action was meditation for the kid, and they spent increasingly long hours sitting on yoga mats- Arthur had bought them because it was just painful to see them sitting on cold floor - while Mordred grew frustrated and inevitably smashed something. Arthur was glad he didn't have a lot of valuable decoration pieces in his house, and all he was losing was crystal glassware. He always kept one nearby, as a convenient outlet for when Mordred would inevitably lose his cool. Very soon he would need to buy more glasses.

A couple of weeks later, Arthur introduced Merlin to Doctor who, the moment he mentioned Morgana's -and Mordred's -progress. That hooked Merlin for good, and for a long time. Theoretically, Merlin could catch up on all the dramas and movies while Arthur was away at work, but Merlin claimed he liked seeing them with Arthur. They started sitting too close, their sides pressed against each other, taking comfort in the proximity; both knowing it won't-couldn't- last.

Arthur, who had a habit of ending up in the office even on Sundays, started taking both Sundays and Saturdays off- like normal people. He had someone waiting for him at home, and suddenly he understood why people were in a rush to leave. Mortifyingly, Uther noticed. He stopped him in the hallway one day, after a meeting finished, asking if everything was alright in his life.

"Yes father. Everything is great." Arthur couldn't help the tender smile that had crept over his face, and Uther's face lighted up in understanding.

"Oh! If it's like that, then I am happy for you son. This is what I had always hoped for you. I was just worried if you had gotten yourself in some sort of trouble, because you had never taken a weekend off willingly before."

"What do you mean?"

"You have found someone." Uther clarified, and to his complete mortification, Arthur blushed. "There is no need to be shy about it. I remember when I met your mother. Work was the last thing on my mind those days." Uther's smile had been nostalgic then, and Arthur wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"Its-there's- Dad! I haven't found anyone." Arthur whined.

"Whatever you say Arthur. Just know that you have my support, whoever you may choose." Uther chuckled, and Arthur thought it best to run away as soon as possible.

The climber in Arthur's kitchen continued to grow, much like Morgana's magic, Mordred's control and Merlin's pop culture knowledge. Arthur knew he was running out of excuses when Morgana started skipping days. She still came over, but regularly, and Mordred had not smashed a single thing in weeks, and now showed only once or twice a week just to learn new tricks from Merlin, and meditating. He seemed to have finally grown a liking to the task he despised so much just a couple of months ago. Arthur wondered that he should've felt happier with all the alone time he got with Merlin because of that, but it just made dread grow in his stomach.

It was time.


	14. Chapter 14

Approximately three months after he had first found Merlin, Morgana knocked on his office door while he was looking over some files. She looked hesitant, in a way she had never looked at his door before.

"May I come in Arthur?" She asked quietly.

"Since when have you ever asked for permission Morgs? Come in." Arthur gestured, already dreading what she was going to say.

"Arthur, I know it's not my place to ask, I probably should stay out of it, but I am sorry. I can't help it. What are you going to do about Merlin?" Morgana said it all in one go. Arthur got a feeling that she had been keeping it in for a really long time. She was right; it wasn't her place to ask. But Merlin meant a lot to her as well, so she deserved an answer.

"I can't keep him Morgana." He smiled sadly.

"Oh Arthur." Morgana stepped closer to him, and took one of his hands to clasp it tightly in both of hers.

"What's true is true." Arthur shrugged. "He deserves to be free. More than anyone else. He deserves to live a life he wants, and not be shackled to someone."

"He might not want to leave." Morgana offered.

Arthur did not want to laugh, but it tore out of his chest anyway, a little maniac. "Might not want to leave what? The lamp? The forced life of slavery? The spells taking his magic away from him? He told me it hurt him Morgs. The bonds hurt him."

"You." Morgana said fiercely. "He might not want to leave you."

"We will see, won't we?" Arthur said, self deprecation dripping from his voice. Morgana was his sister, and she loved him. That might not be true for Merlin. He was just a master to him, like many other. Anything else Arthur had ever assumed Merlin to feel for him was just wishful thinking. He had tried and failed to not read into the stolen glances Merlin threw his way when he thought Arthur wasn't looking, the smiles that were full of tenderness, the way he looked at Arthur with such fondness, and yearning. Arthur wanted to believe that he wasn't assuming things- desperately ached with the desire- but he had been proven a self centered asshole more times than he cared to count. He could not dare to get his hopes high.

"You forget I am a seer dear brother. I know things." Morgana confided.

Suddenly feeling hopeful, he looked at her face, desperate. "You have seen something?"

"I see many things," typical witches, they always spoke in riddles, "some good, and some bad. I know which one I am counting on though."

Arthur slumped. He wished he had Morgana's confidence.

"You sure you can deal with things without him, if it's the bad that comes true after all?" Arthur had to be sure. Losing Merlin was one thing, something Arthur knew was an eventuality and had made his peace with it, but ruining Morgana's life was a whole other.

Morgana just nodded. It felt like the final nail in Arthur's coffin.

Still, he would do this right. This wasn't for him. This was for Merlin. For someone who had never asked something for himself. He couldn't back down now.

Steeling his resolve, he put his other hand on Morgana's where she was holding onto his hand tightly, and squeezed, before letting go. Wordlessly, he started packing. It was only 3:45pm, but waiting more would only kill him inside. He needed to rip it off like a bandage.

He was halfway out of the door, Morgana watching him sadly, when she called out. "Arthur!"

He just stopped in his tracks, and waited for her to continue. When she did, it felt like someone was twisting a knife in his chest, "He loves you too, you know."

He turned around, and gave her a disbelieving look. He knew what her statement implied, but he also knew that arguing about the fact that he did not in fact love Merlin was futile. He could not even deny that to himself anymore. Instead, he just asked, "How can you say that?"

"Trust me, I know these things."

"Because you are a witch?" Arthur slanted one of his eyebrows.

"No idiot. Because I have eyes. And also because I am not as emotionally constipated as you." Morgana laughed.

"Whatever Morgs. Just bring ice cream if it ends badly." Arthur said, and then turned back around to walk out of the door. He barely heard the "It won't" Morgana promised behind him. He did not believe her. He _could not_ believe her.

Still, he felt hopeful as he walked home. Hope is a funny thing, the more you try to crush it, the more resilient it gets. It didn't matter how it ended though, he felt like when he did say the words, when he finally asked Merlin to break the spell, it would feel right. Maybe heartbreakingly sad, but right!

For reasons he could not explain, he ended up shopping. He bought clothes he felt like would be Merlin's size- even though he had no idea if he would even need them. He bought green t-shirts, of different sizes just in case, and blue mufflers, because he thought they would match Merlin's eyes. He bought a pair of jeans, and then 5 more, in ascending order of sizes, hoping one of them would fit him, not giving any thought about what he would do about the ones that would be spare.

After shopping for clothes, he turned towards food. Merlin had not eaten in centuries, and he wanted him to experience the joys of it for the first time in front of him. He stood in a fast food shop for 10 minutes, just staring at the menu, unable to decide. Then he ordered a burger, and a pizza, half Hawaiian- because weird people liked pineapples on their pizza and Merlin was definitely weird- and half meat lovers. He also a box of Haagen Dazs Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream, because maybe Merlin would try it, and if not, his broken heart would need it, and he didn't trust Morgana to remember it.

He would've ended up shopping more- he definitely wasn't delaying going back to his apartment- but he could barely carry all the stuff he had gotten in the first place, and decided to walk home. If Merlin decided to not leave the moment he was freed, maybe Arthur would get the chance to take him shopping for suits, to try out different kind of cuisines, see the world. Merlin still had a tendency of staring out of his apartment windows which meant he loved high buildings and Arthur wanted to take him on top of Eifel tower to really appreciate height, take him on flying lessons! There was so much he wanted to do with Merlin, live his whole life with him by his side, but he dared not dream. For now, this would do.

"Did your entire wardrobe get stolen when I wasn't paying attention, or what? What's with so many shopping bags?" Merlin commented the moment he stepped out of the elevator.

Arthur did not reply, he just places them on the counter and went to sit with Merlin on the couch where he was sitting with remote ready in his hand.

"No Morgana today?" Merlin turned his face towards him and he just shook his head.

"You alright? You don't look so good." Merlin asked concernedly. Arthur knew he was being a coward, but he wanted a little more time with Merlin. A couple of more hours.

"Your face does not look so good." Arthur retorted.

"Ah, he is back. Good, good. So if Morgana isn't coming, can we get on with watching X-men! I have been looking forward to this one." Merlin said excitedly, and Arthur smiled despite himself. He was going to miss this, so what the hell. They definitely could watch one more movie.

"Of course. Which one are we on?" Arthur asked.

"First class. We saw the the old three X men movies and wolverine origins last week."

"Michael Fassbender." Arthur said dreamily.

"James McAvoy." Merlin replied in the same tone, putting a hand on his heart and staring at the ceiling.

"You agree that Xavier and Magneto are shagging right?"

"Oh yes." Merlin replied, while turning on the TV to connect it to the DVD player.

"Good. If not, this movie would confirm it for you." Arthur declared and relaxed, draping his arm across Merlin, to thoroughly enjoy Merlin's expressions through the movie.

When the end credits started playing, Merlin turned the movie off and sank back into the sofa and sighed.

"What?" Arthur asked gently.

"That was good, and a little sad." Merlin smiled at the ceiling.

"I know. I love young Charles and Eric."

"Me too. Definitely shagging as well."

"Yep." Arthur agreed, and Merlin was quiet for a while, just staring at the ceiling.

"I was just wondering what it would be like?"

"What? Being a mutant?"

"I am already that. Or sort of, I have powers and all. No, that's not what."

"Then?"

"Teaching. Having a school and training the inexperienced scared children to handle their magic. Mordred and Morgana always make me think of all the other kids who think they are freaks and never get any help."

"You can't help everyone Merlin."

"I know," he said a little sadly, "But it doesn't stop me from wanting it. Anyway, who even have castles these days? Be it Hogwarts or Mutant Academy, everyone conveniently have a wonderful huge and remote castle handy."

Arthur cleared his throat meaningfully and Merlin sat straight quickly to look at him. "Seriously?"

"Yep."

"A castle?"

"On a remote personal island." Arthur said, a little smug.

"Figures. Rich prick!"

"Oye! You should not insult the guy who would give you his castle to train little wizardlings. Oh wait, does that make me Charles?"

"No it does not. I am Charles, the head of the school and the beloved and powerful teacher."

"Excuse me. I am the one funding everything and the one with charisma. Obviously I am Charles."

"Fuck you."

"Excuse me?"

"I said fuck you. I don't want a school if I don't get to be Charles thank you very much. Also, let's see how you would feel about getting bald."

"Don't touch my hair." Arthur backed away defensively. "You can have Charles. I have never been poor and destitute but I will deal with being Eric. He is hot."

"Awesome." Merlin smiled brilliantly, and laid back down.

Nobody said anything for some time, and then Merlin sighed again, this time wistfully.

"That's such a good dream to have. I have never dreamt of anything before." Merlin confessed.

"It doesn't have to stay a dream." Arthur realized he wasn't joking. If Merlin really wanted this, he would give him the castle- hell he would give him ten castles if it made him happy. Help him establish his own personal Hogwarts.

"No magic remember. Even if you keep being the absolutely amazing person you are," Merlin looked at him with so much emotion in his eyes when he said that, "and never ask me for a third wish, I have no magic, no way to find anyone who has magic. No way to help them."

"Oh." Arthur said, suddenly quiet, and then got up to where he had kept the shopping bags.

Well, it was now or never, "these are for you." Arthur picked them up and put them in front of Merlin.

"I really don't need clothes Arthur. I thought we were over this. I can't shrink them when I go into the lamp, so they are pretty much useless. No clothes needed while I am bound to you." He said, confused, after looking into one and finding two green t-shirts.

"What of when you aren't bound to me?" Arthur said in a really quiet voice, settling down beside him again.

Merlin, who was still going through the shopping bags in the restlessly energetic way that was usual to him, suddenly froze.

"What are you talking about Arthur?" He sounded scared, Arthur could not fathom why.

"Merlin," he couldn't help smiling after taking his name, affection coloring his every syllable, "My Merlin." He said, and then savored the feeling those words brought.

Merlin remained quiet, somehow knowing that Arthur needed to say this uninterrupted, "If I could, I would never let you go."

"But you can Arthur!" Merlin protested. "You can do anything you want. All you need to do is order me to wait." Merlin sounded frantic, as if trying to stop Arthur from saying the words that would shatter whatever they had, completely.

"No I can't. Not this. This is too selfish, and you deserve better." Arthur looked at Merlin at that, and smiled. His chest ached but he needed to do this. He feared he would never be strong enough to try again, if he didn't go through with this now.

"You don't deserve to be chained to me for rest of eternity." Arthur declared sadly.

"I could think of much worse things to spend eternity doing. This isn't half bad." Merlin tried to lighten the mood, but it fell flat.

Taking a deep breath, he turned completely towards Merlin, and grasped both of his wrists in his hands, and lightly rubbed his thumb over the gold bracelets- shackles, his mind supplied- around Merlin's delicate bones.

He looked straight into Merlin's eyes, this was important, and spoke as clearly as he could. "I love you Merlin. Which is why I need to let you go. My third and last wish is ... be free Merlin. I want you to break these shackles around you, and shatter all of the spells restraining your magic and binding you to the lamp, and be a free warlock once again."

Merlin gasped, and stared at Arthur. Then, he croaked, "wait! Back up! I lost the track of what you said when you started speaking. Did you just say _you love me_?"

"Honestly Merlin. Only you." Despite his heart beating in his throat, Arthur couldn't help the fondness overflowing in his heart, "Yes! I love you. I don't know when I developed such a crap taste but I do." Arthur repeated. He didn't want Merlin to ever doubt that.

"You love me." Merlin stated in a flat voice, and then bent forward until his forehead rested against Arthur's. Arthur closed his eyes, and he suspected Merlin did too.

"Yeah." Arthur swallowed.

"And you want me to be free." again a statement, not a question.

"Yeah." Arthur confirmed anyway.

"I thought you were going to ask for something else, anything else, and then I would be back with the witch and never see you again."

"Why would you ever think that Merlin. I would never do that." Arthur said, a little offended. He did not open his eyes though, nor move. His thumbs kept rubbing the bracelets, his breath mingling with Merlin's.

"You love me. You aren't sending me away. And you are freeing me." Merlin repeated in dazed disbelief, and this time Arthur just nodded, his heart aching.

"Why the hell would you assume I would leave you after all that. In case you failed to see the hearts in my eyes- even _Mordred_ noticed them, mind you- I love you too." Merlin whispered, hushed, a _you idiot!_ unspoken but obvious in his voice.

Before Arthur could respond, or even open his eyes, Merlin closed the few centimeters of distance that separated them, and green lips touched his pink ones. Merlin did not move them, or press them, just left them touching Arthur's for a few seconds, letting him get used to it. His brain took stock things in a baffled order. The first thing he registered was how human they felt, same shape, same texture. The second thought was that they were cold! Merlin- the genie- had no circulation. After that, it hit him like a bolt of lightning that they were _Merlin's_ lips. Merlin lips were against his, kissing him. The realization made him surge forward into the kiss, pressing hard into Merlin's unresisting lips, and opening his mouth. All thought left his mind, except the need to kiss Merlin like a man starving for it, like someone who was terrified that this would be snatched away from him any second.

He felt the shackles under his hands break, and then dissolve into thin air. He did not open his eyes, but he sensed when the cold skin under his palms, Merlin's wrists, became human. What he noticed more though, were Merlin's lips, which grew warm first, then hot, like a searing brand against Arthur's, and sinfully wet.

He wanted to open his eyes and look at the man- the warlock- who had so completely turned his world upside down. More than that though, he wanted to keep kissing Merlin. He would die happily if kissing Merlin was all he did for the rest of his life.

Before he could make up his mind about which of the two things he wanted to do more, something else happened. Images started filtering into his mind, like someone plugs in a flash drive in a computer; memories- his but not his. He saw himself with his arms around Merlin's shoulder, punching him in the arm, throwing things at him. There were visions of him riding horses, fighting armies wielding just a sword, taking a bath, hunting- always, always, with Merlin by his side. He saw/heard/felt himself dying, begging Merlin to hold him, his faithful sorcerer never far away, not in life and definitely not in death. Loyal, wonderful, powerful Merlin. _His_ Merlin.

He broke free from the kiss in a gasp, and looked at Merlin in a new light. He knew without being told, without any explanation, that what he saw just now were not just some random dreams. It had happened, he remembered. All at once, he remembered everything.

"Merlin." He whispered, and Merlin looked back at him with the exact same expressions that were on his face. Recognition, awe, and so much longing.

"Arthur." He suffused so much emotion in that one word. An apology, a plea, and sheer gratitude. "Oh my God, Arthur."

"You... you! You waited!" Arthur did not know how to express what he felt, realizing that where he had died, Merlin hadn't. All of this, all these centuries, it was Merlin waiting for Arthur.

"I didn't know. I did not remember. But yes, I waited. How could I not? Not waiting was not even an option." Merlin suddenly sounded lost, and Arthur could not bear it for one more second.

He moved forward, and dragged Merlin towards his chest, hugging him tightly.

"Why?" Arthur rasped, unable to comprehend why anyone would go through so much for him. He was nothing.

"I had to meet you again." Merlin said simply.

"So you? What did you even do?"

"The only thing I could think of. There was no guarantee I would live forever. Not while I was human. Didn't you always say I would trip on a straight path and split my head? I could not die while there was a chance you would come back."

"I am so sorry." Tears leaked out of Arthur's eyes, and Merlin started rubbing his back, calming him down.

"I don't regret it. Not a single moment of it. So don't you dare apologize. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat." Merlin confessed firmly.

"I love you." He knew the words were hopelessly inappropriate, but it was all he had to offer.

"I know." Merlin mimicked Han Solo, and through his tears, Arthur chuckled wetly. God! He loved the idiot. So much.

They stayed in the embrace for so long that Arthur lost the track of time. When Arthur tried leaned back finally, he had overcome the feelings of loss and regret. That was lifetimes ago. This was now, and right now Merlin and Arthur were both alive, and Merlin was staying! He would not let anything spoil this. Merlin though, he did not let him.

"Merlin?"

"Uh-huh." Merlin said into his shoulder, making Arthur realize he was clinging to him.

"You alright?"

Merlin nodded.

"Hey. Let me go?"

Merlin shook his head, and that's when he realized his shirt felt wet where Merlin's head was resting.

"Are you crying?" He tried to disentangle himself again, to look at Merlin, figure out what was wrong, but Merlin held on even more tightly, resisting him.

"What's wrong love?" Arthur gave up, and hugged Merlin right back, clutching him against his chest with one hand and rubbing his spine with the other.

"You are back?" Merlin answered his question with a question of his own.

"Yes. I am. Of course I am. You made sure we do meet again."

"I am so sorry I didn't save you. I failed you Arthur. I lost you." Merlin said, a hiccup punctuating his last sentence.

"It wasn't your fault."

"It was! It was my destiny to protect you, and I didn't even manage that."

"It's done now. What good musing over the past do. I am here now, and so are you."

"I had lost hope Arthur. I wanted to believe it but it had been so long, so I gave up. I made the Witch make me forget. "

"Wait wait. So the Witch is... good?"

Merlin nodded again, and Arthur laughed. This was surreal. "Well I'll be damned."

He felt Merlin smile against his shoulder as well, so he tried to disentangle himself again. This time Merlin didn't resist as Arthur pushed him away a little, to look anew at the person he was head over heels in love with. He noticed puffy eyes first, and the dried tear tracks on his cheeks. He wanted to kiss every single one of them, but that could wait. His gaze travelled up and down Merlin's body, assessing. It made Merlin's face heat up, and Arthur was extremely pleased to realize that human! Merlin blushed as easy as Genie! Merlin. He had just been planning on looking at Merlin to see if the clothes he got would fit, but the sight that met him was deliciously gorgeous. Merlin was thin and lean, with long legs and pale skin. His face was the same as the one Arthur had fallen in love with, just the skin was no longer green. His clothes though... his clothes were disgusting.

Crude cloth, even cruder stitching, with the colors almost faded, Merlin wore blue tunic with brown breeches, and the red muffler he had adorned even as a genie. Arthur guessed he should be grateful that Merlin wasn't naked when he regained his body, but naked Merlin was a very appealing thought. If anything, Arthur resented the clothes.

"Your fashion sense is abysmal as ever." Arthur commented. They had the rest of their lives to talk about the serious things, right now, Arthur had his priorities. He was sure Merlin would understand. "Lucky for you, I brought clothes."

"Nice to know your prattishness has not decreased any." Merlin retorted. Sure enough, he was glad for topic change. Smiling, he picked clothes from the many spoils of Arthur's shopping spree.

When Merlin left the room to change into something Arthur would consider decent, Arthur lay back in his couch and closed his eyes. Merlin had been his past, and Merlin was his future. He had lost him before, distrusted him, belittled him, and loved him through it all. He had died, with the words on his lips, wanting Merlin to know what he meant to him. He could still remember how his chest had _hurt,_ and not just because there was a sword buried in it, but because Merlin was there like always, and he had never even told him he loved him.

He won't make the same mistakes again. By some miracle, and Merlin's pigheaded tenaciousness, he had him again. This time, he would keep him. Because he could... Because Merlin would let him.

"I love you Merlin." He shouted, because he was allowed to do that.

"Can we please have the declarations of love when I am not half naked?" Merlin asked irritably. Arthur knew it was all for show though. Merlin never could resist any affection, especially when it came from Arthur.

"Now where would be the fun in that?" Arthur smiled. He looked forward to the next day, and next, and the one after that, to the rest of his life. Maybe they would create a Magic School together, maybe they would conquer the world, and maybe they would be exactly the way they were now- lead perfectly normal, if luxurious, lives. One thing he was sure of though, whatever they did, they would do it together. He was no Seer, but he could swear that right at this moment, he saw happiness and only happiness in his future.

* * *

 _A/N:Here it is guys. The last proper chapter. The next one is just a 2k words epilogue. It's been quite awesome fun writing this story, specially considering I was only planning on it being a 5-6k words long and look at it now. Really hoping you all enjoyed reading it too. Love you all. I will upload the epilogue on tuesday because I have damned 24 hours emergency duty tomorrow. Ugh, I hate those._


	15. EPILOGUE

**EPILOGUE**

"So have you got it back?" Arthur couldn't help asking, anxious to know the answer.

Merlin wearing the clothes he had bought, tight and form fitting, was a jaw dropping gorgeous sight. His hair were a mess, and Arthur vowed to take him to a hairdresser the next day. Hair that beautiful deserved proper styling- and damn everyone who called him a diva.

They had snogged some more, and then Arthur had introduced Merlin to simple pleasures of life, like food and hot water. Merlin liked the ice cream- and also the Hawaiian pizza, the freak- that did not surprise Arthur. It was the completely pornographic noises he made that did. Merlin looked a little sheepish after the first time a moan left his mouth, but after a while he just gave Arthur a defiant look. Arthur was feeling magnanimous and didn't comment on it, after all food was delicious, and Merlin had not had any in centuries.

It took a heroic amount of will power- more than Arthur even knew he had- to not follow Merlin into the shower, and just set the right temperature for him. Arthur wasn't a complete asshole, he knew how to take it slow. So he just waited in his room while Merlin showered, and wound himself up in knots.

Not once, had Merlin tried to do magic.

Did he not have it anymore? Was that part of the binding-that Merlin could leave the lamp but also leave his magic behind? The idea was depressing. Didn't Merlin say magic was a part of him? The idea that he might have lost it make Arthur feel sick. Even more was the fear that maybe Arthur caused that, and Merlin would resent him all of his life but wasn't saying anything just yet.

Gutted, and feeling increasingly anxious by the minute, Arthur threw the question at Merlin the moment he came out of the shower. In Arthur's defense, Merlin- freshly showered, wearing loose PJs and his hair still dripping wet - was a sight that would make anyone's higher brain functions to shut up, and make them speak the only thing that was in their mind. Stronger men might have been able to withstand the effect; Arthur was not a strong man.

Merlin looked at him bewildered, his blue eyes even brighter and more mesmerizing on his human face, than they had been when he was a genie. "Got what back?"

"Magic! Magic Merlin. Did you get it back? You did not lose it did you?"

"Lose magic? How does one lose magic Arthur? Never mind. No I didn't lose it." Merlin assured him, but Arthur was too wound up to be calmed down so easily.

"Then why haven't you used it till now? You are sure? You aren't lying to me are you?" Arthur got up and started pacing, only stopping when Merlin put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't need to use magic to know I have it Arthur. I won't be alive without it. Though, I have been wanting to test how much it has grown over the years, and honestly, I want to feel it properly; soak it in. It might take a while though, which is why I was waiting." Merlin looked at him earnestly. "You don't mind if I am lost to the world for a couple of hours?"

Arthur gulped and nodded.

"Please."

Merlin smiled and promptly plopped down on the cold tiled floor. Arthur was going to complain about it, like he always did- floor was uncomfortable and inappropriate place to sit-but he sat crossed legged, in a pose he had Morgana mirror dozens of time, closed his eyes, and started mediating.

* * *

 _In her dingy old shop, behind the curtain of colorful beaded strings, stood the old Witch. There was a wide shallow basin filled with clear water in front of her, at which she was staring intently. Shimmering on the lightly rippling surface was a shadowy image of two people. A blond muscular man, Arthur Pendragon, who had arrived in her shop just a few months back, and the other image made her smile, even though she had spent hours observing it._

 _It was Emrys._

 _Lean and tall, with dark hair and pale white skin, to anyone else he would look like a normal human, ignorable. The Witch, though, had seen firsthand the power residing inside that very fragile looking body. And now, she could feel it._

 _The moment Emrys was released from the spell he had bound himself in- because no one else could bind Emrys; he was the embodiment of magic itself, and no power other than his own could restrain him- the Witch was sure every magical being on earth had, unknowingly, rejoiced. Emrys was back; that meant the days of magic were back._

 _When she had taken the lamp, wrapped in the Pendragon flag, from the arms of the man called Gaius, she could not have fathomed how long a journey this would be. Time was meaningless for her, for she had been alive long before Emrys had been born, but she still saw ages pass, and Emrys waited. She still remembered everything, while Emrys forgot. He had begged her to make him forget it, swearing he won't be able to go through the centuries living in the agony brought by waiting and hoping-every damn time- so she complied. Emrys grew to hate her, but it was better than hating himself, because when Emrys mourned, every magical being felt it. The pain was unbearable._

 _She felt joy curl inside her chest- she had always thought she was beyond human emotions, but she was beginning to realize it wasn't so- as she saw Emrys close his eyes, the Once and Future King watching him fondly. Gaius had warned that Emrys would only serve a Pendragon, and no other being ever managed to wake him from his slumber. Every time she handed the lamp to a Pendragon -and the race had dwindled and intermixed so much over the centuries she was no longer sure it would even work, but always relieved when it did- she hoped. Hoped that this was the one, the one who would be bigger and better than the ones before, and be able to bring Emrys- and by that means magic- back to Albion. Every time, she was disappointed._

 _Some had come close, extremely, agonizingly close. When Ali chose selfish worldly gains over his promise, she had wailed, wreaking havoc to all the buildings near her. They called it a hurricane._

 _As to why she always sold the lamp, whoring Emrys out as one would say? Well if she was to live through centuries, protecting the very source of magic, she couldn't do it selflessly. Nobody had said she couldn't have a little fun in the mean time._

 _Now, seeing them together, she understood why Ali was the wrong choice. Why every one of the previous Pendragons had been the wrong choice._

 _They had not been Arthur. They weren't the Once and Future King._

 _In the reflective water, Arthur bent forward and kissed Merlin's forehead tenderly, and then sat down in front of him, mimicking his pose. Instead of closing his eyes though, he observed the incredibly powerful warlock in front of him. This was his meditation- the Witch was sure._

 _She let out a deep relieved sigh. Finally the idiots were together again. Hope had been rekindled in the lands._

 _Whispering quickly in ancient tongue, she let the illusion drop, and the shop around her dissolved in thin air. She was standing outside her hut, in the old forest, which was hidden by hundreds of spells, so no one would stumble here accidently. This was her sanctuary... her home._

 _Walking a few steps she reached her peculiar hut made of trees, and stepped inside as the trunks bent to make way for her. Inside, she sat down on the damp soil, closed her eyes, and reached out._

 _Gold tinted her vision, as she spread the tendrils of her magic into the soil, spreading in all directions. For miles, she could feel nothing but old, strong magic of deep forest, the roots of the trees soaking it up inside and growing. She reached out further, until she had stretched her magic as far as she dared, touching the edges of the cities in all directions, covering a roughly circular area of approximately 50 miles in diameter, and waited. Every living soul slowly but inevitably synchronized their breathing with her, inhaling deeply, and then breathing out, in unison. Everything with magical core inside it tugged at her tendrils, starving for strength that had been depleted from them over the centuries where magic had dwindled, hungry and desperately puling at her strength, wanting to absorb and claim it for their own use, but she held back and resisted._

 _This is why she never reached as far out as she had today. It wasn't safe. But she had a different purpose today._

 _Slowly, minutes later, she became aware of how everything in front of where her magic reach ended, had started getting greener. The green color moved closer and closer to her, spreading out at an alarming speed, and instinctively she wanted to cringe away from it. That much strength had not boded well for everything magic in ages, but she held her ground, waiting for it to approach._

 _Brilliant, shining wisps of green met her golden, intertwined with it, and for a second she could not breathe because of how glorious it felt. If she had to guess, this was what a man dying of dehydration, with their throat parched, would feel if given cold sweet draught of water. She basked in the warmth that she had almost forgotten the existence of._

 _Emrys._

 _His magic kept spreading, not stopping when it met her, but it didn't leave her either. It greeted her like an old friend, and lend her his strength, and emboldened, she reached out further that she had ever before, feeling the very tips of leaves where they grew, and the foot falls of humans as they walked on the soil. Whenever she faltered, she felt the green magic giving her a push, turning golden and merging with hers, to help her reach out even more, until she could feel tears spilling out of her closed eyes and down her face._

 _Emrys._

 _He gave his strength to everything that tugged at it, never hesitating. Every pull and draw that she had resisted whenever she had spread her magic before, he welcomed it. He gave, and gave and gave, helping fledgling unicorn that would've withered away given how deficient the earth was in magic, grow and heal. The little fae latched on to one of the threads that accidently wandered towards their colony- everyone knew to stay clear of that area because they were notorious for sucking away any magic as they were creatures of it, and this was their meal, draining it dry. The Witch winced, momentarily scared that they would weaken Emrys, but to her shock two more tendrils came that way, and pulsed with even more energy than the first one, letting the fae feast and gorge themselves on it, sating their hunger for the first time in ages. The old withered trees, and the young weak sprouts, everything drew on the energy pulsing under and around them, and Emrys just let them._

 _The Witch felt herself sob. This is what selfless love felt like. This is what Emrys coming back meant. The whole earth under her feet was alive and brimming with it, with magic._

 _Emrys was more powerful than her-there was no doubt about it- but she could not let him beat her in graciousness- at least any more than he had already. So she lent her magic to the little blue pixie to heal her broken wing and fly once more, she helped the troll hiding in a cave, because she could not change her appearance any longer, morph into the shape of a young lady, so she could walk among normal people once more without fear; she healed wounds where ever Emrys had hurried; where he had stopped and gave just enough to preserve life before rushing to save something else, she gave more until it thrived._

 _Red, blue, silver, orange, and every spectrum of colors joined in, because magic is generous by nature. They had all grown misers and hoarders, not realizing that magic thrived in company, it became stronger when it was shared._

 _Emrys._

 _Emrys had made them all wake up, lending his strength and making them do what they should've been doing all along: making earth alive with magic._

 _Softly crying, tears still streaming down her face, she withdrew her magic reach closer to home, to her forest. '_ Sorry _,' she tried to tell it, to the place that had given her shelter and comfort through ages,'_ I am so sorry, I didn't take care of you. Sorry I was selfish. Sorry I let you get weak. Let me make amends, let me lend you my vigor. '

 _And she proceeded to do just that. She might be imagining it, but the green wisps curled around her golden as she was sowing the seeds of magic in the soil, so that anything that wanted could pull and borrow energy from it. To her vulnerable and guilty heart, those green wisps seemed proud of her. It might be wishful thinking, but she never wanted to let Emrys down again._

'Thank you _.' She let her magic say to the Emrys', and she could swear she felt it tell her,'_ Any time.'

* * *

Merlin opened her eyes, seconds, minutes, hours later- Arthur really could not be sure, so mesmerized he was by how the warlock looked with the calm face and the insane strength palpable under the thin frame- and grinned.

"Yep." He declared. "Definitely got it back."

He seemed so happy, so absolutely awestruck with euphoric bliss, that Arthur wanted to kiss him senseless. Realizing that there was nothing stopping him from doing so, he reached forward and grabbed Merlin's face to do exactly that.

* * *

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A/N: Okay I am going to get a tiny bit emotional. I have said it before but really, I wasnt planning on this story being long at all. I wanted to write crack basically. But I won't deny I loved writing this. And I honestly wouldn't have managed to write it at all without the support of my sister. She read and critiqued every chapter and would always shove me towards the laptop when I whined that I can't write and I suck.

ALSO, all of you. Every time you left a comment you made me want to complete this at least. So thank you. You probably have ZERO idea of how important and special it had been for me.  
Thank you all for reading this. I hope you had fun.


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